by Laura Walz editor@prpeak.com Two community organizations will be sharing office space in the new year. Tourism Powell River (TPR) and Powell River Regional Economic Development Society (PRREDS) are going to lease a building on Joyce Avenue that is owned by Coast Realty Group.
The building has a large, lighted sign next to the sidewalk and ample parking, both important factors for TPR, which has been located at Crossroads Village Shopping Centre since 2006.
Russell Brewer, president of TPR’s board of directors, said the location will be better for visitors. “It will be a lot easier to find, a lot more room, a lot more visible,” he said. “I think it will pull people into this area a lot easier.”
Brewer added that it was the best location the organization could find. “We spent a fair bit of time trying to find a suitable location and this presented itself as the best option,” he said.
TPR will be able to serve visitors better, Brewer also said. “There are synergies for visitors coming to Powell River. There’s lots of overlap between economic development initiatives and tourism initiatives. It just makes sense to work under one roof.”
While there is a lot of parking at its current location, said Darren Robinson, TPR executive director, it’s not exclusive. The new location also has higher visibility, he pointed out. “We do hear quite a bit, from both locals and visitors, that we’re in a place that’s not highly visible,” he said.
Jen Vasseur, TPR visitor services and projects coordinator, said the location will be an improvement. “I get people in every day telling me how difficult it is to find us, so this will be an answer to that and will solve that problem,” she said.
Jay Yule, PRREDS president, said moving in together creates synergies and helps each organization to better serve the community. “I think the idea of one-stop shopping for people who come into town is understandable,” he said.
Scott Randolph, PRREDS manager, said the move has been “a long time coming. I know that since I arrived here in 2003, this has been a discussion that’s been ongoing. Unfortunately, we’ve just never been at a crossroads that worked for both organizations.”
The timing on both their leases matched, Randolph added, which paved the way for the move. “I think in the last year and a half, Darren and I have worked pretty aggressively on trying to find something that made sense for both organizations,” he said.
The move also means there will be savings for both organizations, Randolph said. “Will they be huge? No, but it will allow us to put more money into the services we’re supposed to provide for the community of Powell River.”
Yule said he believes there will be savings, but, he added, “we’ll take the time over the next year to have a look at what kind of savings and efficiencies we can find by working together and make sure that that revenue goes back to the mandate of both of our organizations.”
Powell River Film Festival Society has had its offices in the PRREDS offices since 2005. Randolph said there isn’t room for the society in the new location. “We feel bad about that, but we’re doing what we can to try and accommodate them at another space,” he said.
In the beginning, the society used the space for free, but in the past few years, it has paid a nominal rent of $100 a month, said Jan Padgett, festival director. “We certainly are deeply appreciative of what PRREDS has done for us in the past,” she said. “They are going to continue to support us however they can.”
The society is looking for another space, but so far it hasn’t found anything suitable, Padgett said. The fact the society doesn’t need office space year round makes the situation tricky as well, she added. “If we had to pay more for rent, we’d be stretched,” she said. “If there is somebody out there who could do even part as a sponsorship, because we’re a charity, it could be a write off. There’s that possibility too.”
Tourism Powell River and PRREDS plan to move at the end of 2011 and be set up in their new premises in early January.
