By David F. Rooney
Any hope that Hall Pacific might hang around to work with the community on a more locally palatable mall project have now been dashed.
“We were determined and excited to create a beautiful, thriving highway commercial centre and a lasting contribution to Revelstoke,” said Mike Spaull of Hall Pacific. “We were looking forward to working with City staff and local professionals to hone the design and make this an iconic gateway to the city.
“Alas, council has decided to reject our development so we must now move on. It’s unfortunate to see how a small group of people happily sacrifice economic growth, jobs and competitively priced shopping options to protect their monopoly on commerce in Revelstoke.”
Spaull said this decision “doesn’t set out the welcome mat to other developers” and noted that our town “needs and deserves investment in its future.”
In his regular Friday morning Mayor’s Report on EZ Rock, Mayor Mark McKee said he made a final appeal to the company to hang in there and work with the community.
“I reached out to them over the last couple of days… they are not coming back,” he told student interviewer Cohen Lussier. “That’s one of the risks that you run. I personally thought it was a mistake but that was Councilo’s decision to do. We have to pick up the pieces and move on.”
He also told Lussier, who is one of several young interviewers tapped by EZ Rock Host Shaun Aquiline to get a taste of media work by periodically spelling him during the Mayor’s Report, that there is no new investment on the horizon.
