VIDEO – Asphalt is setting and framing is going up for the Wharf at Westview project, which is entering its final stages of completion. Part of the project is to open by Labour Day long weekend.
City of Powell River Councillor Chris McNaughton, Jim Agius, local contractor and owner of Agius Builders Ltd., and city Wharfinger Jim Parsons recently took the Peak for a tour of the project.
The development is divided between three different projects: south harbour, north harbour and the Wharf at Westview around the BC Ferries terminal.
The wharf project is changing noticeably on a near daily basis. All of the concrete work is now complete, along with wooden walkways around the wharf and accompanying lamps and handrails. Electricity is now connected to the area and the wharfinger building, which will house facilities for boaters along with office space, is going up quickly.
“It’ll be the hub of the waterfront down here,” said Parsons. “It’s going to be something to be proud of for years and years to come. Long overdue.” At the end of the pier a stage has been erected as part of the city’s commitment to the BC Spirit Squares program, which provided $300,000 to the project.
Grass will be planted for both parking spots and as green space in the area. A special, resilient grass will be used to prevent vehicle damage. There are also two commercial sites between the wharf and the north harbour that will be developed in the future for a variety of businesses.
A first nations pavilion is planned, on the north side about halfway up the wooden walkway. For the time being the area will remain empty, said McNaughton, until the city can work with Tla’Amin (Sliammon) First Nation to develop the area.
The total cost for the wharf project will be around $3.2 million, much of which has come from various government funding sources such as $1.5 million from Island Coastal Economic Trust. City borrowing will amount to just over $590,000 and $200,000 will come from reserve funds. BC Ferries also contributed $400,000.
“I think we’ve done very well at leveraging up the funding and creating an incredible gateway to Powell River,” said McNaughton.
The new wharf features local components including handrails fabricated in Powell River, timber work on the walkway, benches, and wood used for framing the wharfinger building.
The intention is to have the wharf pier open for the public by Labour Day long weekend and the rest of the wharf open by the end of September.
North harbour construction is around 85 per cent complete according to Parsons. Work there will have cost a total of just under $7.5 million, the majority of which ($6 million) has been covered by long-term borrowing approved by voters in a 2008 referendum, and the rest from reserve funds.
The new south harbour will have approximately 1,200 linear feet of dock space for temporarily moored boats. The idea is to provide more opportunities for boaters going by the area to come and moor in Powell River and spend some time in the community. This project will cost a total of just over $6 million dollars: $2 million from Western Economic Diversification’s community adjustment fund, $2.2 million from ICET and just under $2 million in short-term city borrowing. The south harbour is projected to be open for Labour Day.
An extended sea walk, renovations to the boat launch and development of the area where the old barge facility stands are all additional projects that are in planning stages for the future.
