Restoration proposed for historic village theatre

Marcel Tetrault
Comox Valley Echo

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

A brand new development proposal in at the busy village office in Cumberland would see 250 homes built right downtown, the Ilo Ilo Theatre revitalized and a new hotel and wine bar built next door.

Comox Valley Investment Corp. is proposing that a mixed-use building with 250 apartment units and 25,000 square feet of ground floor commercial space be allowed just off of Dunsmuir Street on Beaufort Avenue.

In addition, CVIC owner Scott Harrison plans to restore Dunsmuir Street's historic Ilo Ilo Theatre, reinstate live theatre and performances in the 400-seat venue and include space for dinner theatre.

Next door, he wants to build a four- or five-storey hotel with between 50 and 66 rooms along with a wine bar, rooftop lounge and patio.

"This really fulfils the heart of what the OCP (official community plan) is about," said Harrison. "The multi-use of that facility just adds another ingredient to what Cumberland has got.

"It really does mesh well. Anchoring that number of people ... at the end of the street really does provide some confidence for the business owners."

Rezoning is required for the project to go forward due to the proposed heights of some of the buildings and the ratio of floor area to lot size.

In addition, the property for which the apartment units are proposed does not allow the type of use proposed and another request is being made to alter the required number of parking spaces.

Harrison said that accepting a taller building downtown may be a challenge for some people, but the way development has been done in the past has got to change.

"You have to understand, Smart Growth requires you to go up," he said. "It's important that we shift away from focusing so much on suburban development, to a more integrated model."

Cumberland's downtown core has already undergone a modest revitalization, with several new businesses opening up and upgrades to parts of the streetscape.

"The business owners do quite well with the Big Time Out and a couple things, but they're still all just hanging on, waiting for more growth," said Harrison. "This, of course, will help be the catalyst for that."

There is a phenomenal amount of growth planned for the 1,200-home village, with Trilogy proposing upwards of 1,600 units at the highway, the Bell Group proposing around 1,750 units of seniors housing and Coal Valley Estates proposing around 1,000 homes.

With the constructed treatment wetland still under construction and little additional capacity in the existing village sewer system, any building that doesn't use a standalone system is still a couple of years away.

Harrison said he hopes to start pre-selling units in 2010 - the same year the wetland is expected to be completed - start building apartment units in 2011 and deliver them in 2012. The theatre-hotel would follow.

Harrison previously restored the Old Post Office building, where he now lives and works.

© Comox Valley Echo 2008