NANAIMO – At the December 7 Special In-Camera Nanaimo City Council meeting, staff were directed to issue a Request for Proposal (RFP) to seek interest from the development community to build the conference centre hotel at 100 Gordon Street. In an effort to ensure those interested in developing the site have current information, Council requested staff undertake an update to the existing market studies for the hotel and Vancouver Island Conference Centre (VICC).
“A conference centre hotel and the success of the VICC is a priority for both this Council and the community as a whole. We want to use an open, transparent and competitive process to find a developer who can deliver this important project for Nanaimo,” explained Mayor Bill McKay.
Council believes that in order to make an informed decision concerning a future hotel, an open, transparent and competitive RFP process is necessary.
Key Points:
- The updated market studies are anticipated to take three months to complete and will provide Council and the development community with a better understanding of the opportunities and challenges of developing the hotel property and the adjacent VICC.
- The RFP will be issued in the spring of 2016 with a quick turn-around time for responses. Council will use the evaluation criteria in the RFP to determine the most suitable proponent.
- The construction of the hotel and its opening date will be determined through the RFP process.
- Council has agreed not to consider repurposing the VICC until the market studies and RFP process are complete.
- 100 Gordon Street is 0.17 ha (0.42 acre) level site, located adjacent to the VICC, the Port Theatre and the Great Canadian Casino. The property is owned by the City of Nanaimo.