Economic Snapshot

The University of Victoria's Community Relations Office is proposing a Vancouver Island Alliance among all post secondary institutions on the Island for the purpose of mobilizing their collective and diverse research, knowledge, skills and capacities in service of the people of the Island. The idea was inspired in part by the Nov 2007 Re-Discovering the Alberni Valley event organized by locals Ken Hutcheson, Dewayne Parfitt, John Tierney, Rosalie Lawes, Russ McLaughlin, Darren Willis and the City's Economic Development Manager Pat Deakin.

The City of Port Alberni has submitted a one-page project abstract to the Innovative Clean Energy Fund (ICE) for a $5 million project being sponsored by a consortium including Wood Tech 21 and Paszner Technologies Inc. The Catalyst Paper Corporation is entering into an agreement with these parties to have the project based at their paper mill in Port Alberni. A full application will be submitted by the consortium Dec 10, 2008. If the application is successful, ICE would provide up to 1/3 of the project's cost.

The City of Port Alberni and Wood Tech 21 have submitted a request to the Minister of Forest and Range for $175,000 in funding. The funding would be used to advance 3 projects being promoted by Wood Tech, a local nonprofit, pro-active, forest industry action group. The projects include a strategic plan for their nine-point vision of an integrated forest industrial complex in Port Alberni, two components of which are a modified wood plant and a Laminated Veneer Lumber plant.

The Best Western Barclay Hotel is adding convention facilities to their hotel in Port Alberni.

The City has received a $520,800 grant from the Community Development Trust's Job Opportunity Program to provide up to 15 jobs for laid-off forest industry workers. The work will include trail building, invasive plant species control, fuel management and stream rehabilitation.

The Holland America Line and ResidenSea have each announced one of their cruise ships will be visiting Port Alberni in 2009. The City's McLean Mill National Historic Site and the Alberni Pacific Railway steam train are the two most demanded tours for cruise ship passengers arriving in Nanaimo.

The newly renovated Alberni Mall also at the top end of Johnston Road includes Canadian Tire (one of their largest franchises on the Island), Mark’s Work Wearhouse, Boston Pizza, and Dollar Giant.

The new Pacific Rim Mall at the top end of Johnston Road includes Wal-Mart, Extra-Foods, Staples, Canada Post Office, Lordco, Starbucks, A & W, and Warehouse One.

Significant projects in the planning stages in Port Alberni are a $45 million hotel/condominium development, a $10 million marine commercial/industrial mall, a $ 2.8 million upgrade of the Alberni Pacific Railway to allow for steam train passenger service between Port Alberni and Parksville and a 30-unit riverfront townhouse complex .

A $980,000 improvement to Harbour Quay will begin in late 2008. The upgrade will provide more covered shelter for the year-round Farmer's Market, an extension of the waterfront boardwalk, additional commercial rental unit space and additional washrooms. New streetlights were installed at Harbour Quay over the 2008 summer months.

The City's $650,000 uptown redevelopment project will be completed before the end of the 2008 calendar year. That project is bringing new street-lights, new intersection lights, new planters, upgraded crosswalks and more to 3rd Avenue. That project in combination with the commercial revitalization tax exemption bylaw has stimulated a renewed interest in commercial and multi-family residential construction in the uptown area.

The three largest projects that have been announced for Port Alberni thus far in 2008 are the $45 million build of a new high school, Catalyst Paper Corporation's investment of $11 million in new pulping technology for one of their 2 paper machines here and a 55-lot single-family dwelling subdivision which has almost sold out in the few weeks it has been on the market.

Major developments completed in Port Alberni in the last 12 months include the $7 million Chances RimRock Gaming Centre, the spectacular several million dollar all-wood award-winning Tseshaht Administrative Building and a $1.4 million addition to the public library at our Community Centre

The Hupacasath First Nation has received almost $4 million in funding for a new cultural facility. Negotiations are currently under way with the Port Alberni Port Authority and the City of Port Alberni for a site location.

The City of Port Alberni has adopted a commercial revitalization tax-exemption bylaw that provides new commercial and multi-family improvements over $50,000 in our uptown area with a 10-year tax break.

Port Alberni is widely known as ‘the community with a heart’ for our consistently high level of donation to charitable causes and individual cases of hardship.

Port Alberni is home to the world-famous Martin Mars water bombers owned by the Coulson Group of Companies.