Your Weekly North Vancouver Island Construction News
In this Week’s Issue of Building Links
- Port Alberni: Construction expected to start next year for a 35 unit four-storey affordable apartment building.
- Courtenay: Rezoning approvals moving forward for a 21 lot residential subdivision.
- Gold River: Ocean Falls Blockchain is proposing a Bitcoin mining farm at the old mill site.
Port Alberni: Construction expected to start next year for a 35 unit four-storey affordable apartment building.
The Citaapi Mahtii Housing Society plans to redevelop a former school site located near the Fall Fair Grounds. The development will create 35 new units in a new four-storey building. As proposed, the building will include eight studio units, seven one-bedroom apartments, four two-bedroom units, 12 three-bedroom suites and 4 four-bedroom units. In 2021, the Province announced funding for the project and the City of Port Alberni provided the site for construction. Ahousaht First Nations has hired a consultant to take care of applications. The project is still in the design stage and architectural drawings are expected to be presented soon for approval.
Courtenay: Rezoning approvals moving forward for a 21 lot residential subdivision.
The city has given first and second reading to a Zoning Amendment application to rezone 1915 Cumberland Road from R-1A to R-1E. The applicant intends to subdivide the property and create 21 lots as part of an intentional neighbourhood that enhances affordability through community activities like shared meals and childcare, low home operating costs of small energy-efficient buildings, a shared common house, value-conscious construction, and fair-priced sales to buyers. Lots would range in size from about 300 m2 for modest single detached houses to 450+ m2 for single family homes that can have secondary suites, per R- 1E requirements. The development will also include a small community orchard, and common property private road access connecting to Cumberland Road and Larsen Road, blocking non-emergency vehicular through-traffic with a locked bollard. A new city sanitary main would run under the private road, protected by a statutory right of way.
Gold River: Ocean Falls Blockchain is proposing a Bitcoin mining farm at the old mill site.
The Village of Gold River has approved Bitcoin Mining and Data Centres as an allowable use for industrial-zoned land in the Village. Ocean Falls Blockchain is proposing to build and operate a Bitcoin mining farm at the old pulp mill site owned by West Coast Marine Terminal, similar to the project they operate near Bella Bella at another old mill site. A Bitcoin mining operation is a collection of computers in a warehouse that solve mathematical problems to receive rewards. These rewards are Bitcoins. According to Statista.com, as of March 14, 2022 one Bitcoin transaction used an estimated 2,258.49 kWh to complete, while one Bitcoin is worth $55,299.81 CAD as of March 24. The project will now need to go through a system impact study with BC Hydro. Village council is interested in supporting a variety of initiatives at the mill site, including the ongoing aquafarms project, and potential greenhouses; which have the potential to use some of the excess heat generated by the Bitcoin mining operation.
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