Conference Centre

[Smokey©]

Glad to hear that people like it .. . . I was hoping we wouldn't have to tear it down, dig a hole, paint it pink and call it an elephant. .. .

[RyanCoffey]

LOL!

Sounds kinda like a fun weekend activity though...

[shifty]

Glad to hear that people like it .. . . I was hoping we wouldn't have to tear it down, dig a hole, paint it pink and call it an elephant. .. .

ACK. That would be way too much like my hometown. To kill boredom, the common prank was to paint Jumbo the Elephant bright pink. Good times in small town Ontario...

[The Korrector]

Councillor Manhas says the Conference Centre Hotel will open by May, 2010. Now that is admirable optimism. There are currently some piles of broken pavement and gravel on the site. No excavations. There is a new concept for the hotel, however. It is now going to be a resort hotel.

In the U.S. the bottom is dropping out of the hotel market, particularly the "resort" hotel market. Occupancy rates in Hawaii have fallen by a much as 20% this year. Hotel projects are being cancelled whenever possible; i.e. where they have not gone too far yet. Hotels have suddenly been moved to the banker's "finance with extreme caution" list.

But like Councillor Manhas let's be optimistic. It will be a different story for a "resort" hotel in Nanaimo with its miles of pristine, white sand beaches and its Mediterranean climate.

Of course in the meantime the Conference Centre has transformed downtown Nanaimo. Commercial Street is clogged with pedestrians; there are line-ups at the restaurants; the small stores are crowded with shoppers.

No you say! Downtown is still as dead as ever. Half the restaurants are still closed by 4 p.m. Well I'm sure it will be different in the Fall if we just work extra hard at believing it will be so. If those damn naysayers would just join the positive thinkers and then like in Alice in Wonderland, what we wish to become true, will become true.

[John Cooper]

I live and work downtown, and I think its definetly starting to come alive down here. I think its an absolutely stunning waterfront city as is, that is only getting better with time.

[Piper]

I'm sorry John but I have to disagree with you. I also live and work downtown my work is street entertainment and I can usually do well at my job if I'm not crowded by panhandlers. It's my oppinion that the busineses in downtown dictate most of what goes on down on commercial st. I moved my bank from downtown to Rutherford mall because I was tired of taking a body gaurd with me to get money from my bank. I stopped busking in downtown in 2003 because businesseswere complaining about buskers. And yes things are coming alive downtown. One of my sons was beat up for no reason walking home 2 weeks ago from downtown (3 blocks) My truck was broke into 4 weeks ago in my yard, Last week my house was broke into at 4 AM while I was home. Is it getting better???

[TH2008]

I'm sorry John but I have to disagree with you. I also live and work downtown my work is street entertainment and I can usually do well at my job if I'm not crowded by panhandlers. It's my oppinion that the busineses in downtown dictate most of what goes on down on commercial st. I moved my bank from downtown to Rutherford mall because I was tired of taking a body gaurd with me to get money from my bank. I stopped busking in downtown in 2003 because businesseswere complaining about buskers. And yes things are coming alive downtown. One of my sons was beat up for no reason walking home 2 weeks ago from downtown (3 blocks) My truck was broke into 4 weeks ago in my yard, Last week my house was broke into at 4 AM while I was home. Is it getting better???

There are lots of issues in the downtown core to consider. The drug problem is a HUGE one. It seems the character of the addict has changed, as well. Perhaps it's the new drugs they are using. There seems to me more violence and abuse with crack cocaine and crystal meth on our streets, sadly enough.

--
TH

[Rickj]

There are lots of issues in the downtown core to consider. The drug problem is a HUGE one. It seems the character of the addict has changed, as well. Perhaps it's the new drugs they are using. There seems to me more violence and abuse with crack cocaine and crystal meth on our streets, sadly enough.

--
TH

The best one liner I have heard in a long time was at a lunch gathering in Nanaimo a few months ago where Gordon Campbell congratulated Gary K on cleaning up the drug problems in the downtown area.......

[Piper]

Rickj, thats the joke of the year maybe I can give Gordon a call and invite him for lunch at the new hope centre. I will even pay for it and at the end of lunch we can see if his attitude changes about drugs in Nanaimo.

[ebusinesstutor]

I don't like Starbucks coffee, but it is one of the few coffee shops open late.

I usually go to the Serious Coffee at the South Parkway, but they close at 7.

So for evening coffee, I go to Starbucks...{sigh}

Perkins closes at 4 or 5 I think, so not even of any use for downtown coffee ambiance, though I go occasionally when I am down during the day.