New Visitor Information Centre is a “Go”

The City, the Community Futures Development Corporation, the Chamber of Commerce and the Revelstoke Land and Development Company have announced their intention to partner on the construction of a new $1.17 million Visitor Information Centre. Design concept courtesy of the City of Revelstoke’s Community Economic Development Department

The City, the Community Futures Development Corporation, the Chamber of Commerce and the Revelstoke Land and Development Company have announced their intention to partner on the construction of a new $1.17 million Visitor Information Centre.

The new centre will include offices for the Chamber, CFDC and the City’s Community Economic Development Department. The department, the Chamber and CFDC have for years shared rented office space on Campbell Avenue.

This has been discussed at Council, the Chamber and the CFDC for years. Different locations have been discussed over the years including the lots adjacent to Grizzly Plaza.

Alan Mason, the City’s director of Community Economic Development , said  the owners of the site, the Revelstoke Land and Development Company, will be responsible for the construction of the building.  The cost of the building will be $1.179 million, which includes a land cost.  Each of the partners will be contributing to the cost of the building in the following amount:

City of Revelstoke (Tourism Infrastructure Funds)                $500,000
Community Futures Revelstoke                                                $300,000
Revelstoke Chamber of Commerce                                          $129,000
Grant Funding                                                                               $300,000 (from the Columbia Basin Trust and  the Economic Opportunities Fund)
Sub-total                                                                                        $1,229,000

The building will be located on the vacant lot on Victoria Road right next to Pharmasave and will also offer office and retail space available for lease.

“The two-storey building will allow the three partner agencies involved in economic development in Revelstoke to continue to share space and resources, which is mutually beneficial to each agency and helps reduce costs for all three groups,” says a statement released Tuesday afternoon by Judy Goodman, the Chamber’s executive director.  “Co-locating the economic development services also provides a ‘one-stop shop’ for people looking for business information, and allows these services to be delivered very effectively.”

The new building will provide a permanent home for the Visitor Information Centre, and will be operated by the Revelstoke Chamber of Commerce.

“Having a new full-time VIC will make it much easier for the Chamber to deliver tourism information services in an efficient manner,” Goodman said.  “We are very pleased with the design and layout of the new VIC, and think it will be very well received by the growing number of visitors coming to experience Revelstoke.”

The interior of the VIC will showcase the high-quality wood products that are produced in the community.  “This is a great opportunity to showcase our local wood products,” Community Economic Development Director Alan Mason said in the statement.  “We hope that the display of wood products will help increase knowledge of and demand for local wood”.

CFDC Manager Darryl Willoughby was also pleased.

“Community Futures is very pleased to be part of this initiative that continues the economic development partnership that has served this community well for the past 25 years,” he said in the statement.  “We look forward to working collaboratively with our partners in the new facility to improve our local economy.”

Planning work on the building will commence this fall with an expected opening of the new VIC sometime next summer.