Procter Expands Island Chain With Purchase of Port Alberni Properties
NANAIMO – Congratulations to Charles Stephen upon being appointed General Manager of the Nanaimo Golf Club. Charles has been an excellent representative for the Nanaimo Golf Club for many years now, and is well deserving of his new role.
Charles Stephen
Nanaimo Search and Rescue will soon have a new home, in the former Harewood Fire Hall at 195 Fourth Street. R.W. (Bob) Wall Ltd. is the General Contractor for the project, and owner Donna Hais has been instrumental in bringing this project to fruition. The $2.6 million project will be completed in two phases. The City of Nanaimo is paying $1.3 million for the building, and an anonymous donor has contributed $1 million to Nanaimo Search and Rescue towards the project. The building was originally built in 1956.
Wayne Procter is expanding his convenience store and gas outlet chain, as his Best Buy Liquor Stores has purchased the Westwind Beer & Wine store and the Westwind Pub in Port Alberni. Wayne’s companies include Gas ‘n Go and General Stores.
Jeet Manhas
The Port of Nanaimo Board of Directors has two new members, as the Federal Government announced the appointments of Jeet Manhas and Shiva Dean to three-year terms. Manhas has been on the Board previously as a provincial government appointee, and is the owner of the Fas Gas fuel station at Terminal Park. He is also a former City of Nanaimo councilor and Regional District of Nanaimo Director, and served as Port Board Chair during his earlier appointment. Dean currently resides in Alberta, and has a strong background in international trade development focused on the Asia Pacific region.
Congratulations to Nanaimo’s Vanessa Savoie, for joining the team at Crowd Content, where she will assist in Search Engine Optimization and digital marketing. Vanessa’s father, Dr. Andre Savoie of the Terminal Park Dental Clinic, could be referred to as the “painless dentist”, as he gives arguably the best needle in Nanaimo.
Island West Coast Developments has started construction on the Alberni Low Energy Housing Society’s new affordable housing initiative in Port Alberni. That comes after several years of background work by the ownership group and entire development team.
The Port of Nanaimo announced it has signed a 50-year shipping operations agreement with DP World. This will enable the Port to continue towards a $105 million expansion of their terminal at Duke Point.
Acting Fire Chief Tim Doyle has been appointed as Nanaimo’s new Fire Chief.
Safeguard Storage held its official grand opening March 1 at 1865 Boxwood Road.
The recently completed new Quality Inn Hotel at 440 Selby Street in downtown Nanaimo started taking reservations on February 22.
Tilray has reached an agreement to have Grow Pharma import and distribute the medical cannabis products it produces in the United Kingdom. Grow Pharma is part of the Grow Group, and Tilray CEO Brendan Kennedy notes the agreement is an important part of expanding access into the United Kingdom market.
Quality Foods announced during its annual general meeting that the $2 per hour pay premium they introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic has become a permanent pay increase for all employees in its 13 locations on Vancouver Island.
Omicron presented its plans for the 197 apartments planned for the Telus property bordered by Richards, Wentworth and Wallace streets to the City of Nanaimo’s design advisory panel recently. The proposal includes two buildings, one for 52 units and the other for 146 units, which will include studio, one, two and three bedroom suites. The units are expected to be home to close to 500 people.
The City of Nanaimo has announced it will be building 59 supportive housing units at 702 Nicol Street. Long ago it was a Payless Gas Station.
Congratulations to the Nanaimo Airport for winning a 2020 LIT Design Award for its terminal expansion for Interior Architectural Illumination. Pelle Bjornert led the project team for the award winning effort.
Sadly, long-time Nanaimo contributor and former Greater Nanaimo Chamber of Commerce President Marianne Turley passed away recently. She and husband Jim Turley, now a City of Nanaimo councilor, owned and operated Turley’s Florists for many years. Marianne was awarded a City Honour in Culture Award posthumously for her many efforts in building Nanaimo’s culture and arts community.
Ay-Lelum – The Good House of Design, received the Excellence in Culture Award for their contributions to local, national and international fashion.
Dr. Tierney Glenn has joined the team of health practitioners at Island Optical Health and Performance.
Mark MacDonald is President of Communication Ink Media & Public Relations Ltd. and can be reached at mark@communicationink.ca
