Green Thumb Nursery has been sold.
A sale of the 44-acre site at 6261 Hammond Bay Road has been anticipated for several years, and Brad Bailey of Colliers International noted the multi-million dollar sale to a private, out of town buyer, was completed recently.
The property is currently zoned urban reserve, and needs to be rezoned to accommodate mixed use/commercial and higher density residential, including multi-family developments. It is expected to include higher density townhomes, condominiums and apartments.
The city has long planned for a road connecting Enterprise Road – the lights on the Old Island Highway at the retail complex that is home to Brown’s Social House and Starbucks – to join up with Calinda Street at the traffic light off Hammond Bay Road to curve its way through the property.
The development of the land is expected to take several years.
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Computer repair business R-U Computing at 549 Haliburton Street has been sold.
Craig and Jessica Reimer have purchased the company from Brent Rotar, remains actively involved with operations and service.
DR Systems will be moving into the Haliburton office and sharing space with R-U. DR Systems is a software and consulting service company founded in 1983 by Dr. Don Reimer.
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Gerry Patenaude and the team at Omniart Creative continue to grow their business at 209-335 Wesley Street.
A long-time and well respected design expert, Gerry is the owner and Creative Director of the company, which has a team of eight that has done work for 7-Eleven, RE/MAX , Coastal Community Credit Union and Weyerhaeuser, amongst other clients.
www.ominartcreative.com
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Congratulations to Kevin Gillanders, Vice President, Commercial Financial Services, and his team at RBC Royal Bank, for a very informative gathering to hear Craig Wright, RBC’s Chief Economist June 28 at the Vancouver Island Conference Centre.
Wright’s poignant insight about global, North American and Canadian economic prospects was well received by the room full of Central Island business owners.
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Core Insurance Services has opened at 102-6551 Aulds Road, across the parking lot from Milano’s Ristorante.
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Congratulations to Lee Odgers and Kim Strynadka on their recent marriage. Kim is the Owner/Mortgage Broker at Dominion Lending Centres Integrity Mortgage BC. Kim recently bought the building at 204-503 Comox Road and moved the business there.
Lee is with Freedom 55 Financial and Quadrus Investment Services Ltd.
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Blake Erickson Roofing has been sold, as Gayton Connelly has purchased the long-time Nanaimo company from Blake Erickson, who has retired.
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Colin McDougall is the new manager of Costco Wholesale outlet in north Nanaimo. He replaces David Hahn, who has moved to Edmonton to manage the Costco store that Colin managed before coming to Vancouver Island.
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The first annual Tom Harris Golf Classic was an enormous success, raising over $250,000 for charity and the Nanaimo Foundation, much to the delight of Mike and Tony Harris and the Harris family.
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Burnt Honey Dessert’s has opened in Country Club Centre.
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Dr. John Christensen has purchased the Metral Dental practice next to Staples from Dr. Gerry Sugiyama, who has decided to retire.
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Congratulations to Dr. Andrea Smilski, who has accepted a position in Doha, Qatar as Dean, Health Sciences, with the College of North Atlantic (CNA), the public college of Newfoundland and Labrador.
Andrea recently retired from Vancouver Island University, where she most recently served as Interim Dean of the Health and Human Services Faculty.
CNA in Qatar features 300-plus Canadian instructors, with over 2,000 post-secondary students from Qatar and other nations.
Andrea’s husband, George Hrabowych, principal at Herold Engineering, is very proud of her appointment and success, and looks forward to visiting her in Qatar during her tenure, which starts this August.
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Pride Painting has opened an office between Brilliant Business Solutions and the Bluebird Motel on North Terminal Avenue.
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Kylee Power, Manager/Owner of Central Drugs at 495A Dunsmuir Street, is pleased to note that Central Drugs is opening a new store in the Pacific Station Complex on Dublin Way, just off Metral Drive.
Grand opening for the store is set for July 18.
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City Electrical Supply has purchased Torbram Electric Supply.
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Seadrift Fish is now open in its new location in the South Parkway Plaza, in the former Serious Coffee premises.
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Sales Manager Gina Bethell is pleased to note that the Vancouver Island Conference Centre hosted 337 delegates from across the country recently for the BC Rural Health Conference.
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Apex Bikes is opening its doors on Dover Road.
– Mark MacDonald writes about business in Nanaimo. Tell him your news by emailing him at mark@businessexaminer.ca