The Uchucklesaht Tribe Administration/Thunderbird Apartments complex is nearing completion on the site of the historic Somass Hotel on Argyle Street.
On Monday, as a city work crew set up to complete the main sidewalk, Ha-Shilth-Sa toured the facility with Uchucklesaht Chief Administrative Officer Scott Coulson.
Coulson said the initial plan was to renovate the old hotel, but a close inspection of the century-old building brought about a change of plan.
“There were seismic issues with the building. We decided it would cost more money to renovate to code than it would to build a whole new building,” he said.
“We did our initial engineering on the building,” Coulson explained. “We had to do the asbestos abatement first, so we basically tore everything out of the building. Then you could actually see the bones of the building. And at that point, we determined that it would be more cost-effective to build a new building.”
Starting at the ground floor, there are four offices for Uchucklesaht Human Services, as well as a boardroom (capacity of 30) that will be available for rent.
The Cultural Centre is located on the Kingsway side. An outdoor cedar boardwalk (similar to the boardwalk in Kildonan) has already been completed, and there will be “a water feature.”
Inside the Cultural Centre space, wall display boxes have been roughed in to accommodate artifacts that will be repatriated from the Canadian Museum of Civilization in Ottawa and the Royal BC Museum in Victoria.
“This long one is for a herring rake that is coming back from Ottawa,” Coulson said, pointing out a long, waist-high slot on the wall.
“We’ve got masks and baskets and different tools – things like that.”
The total administrative footprint is relatively small. Along with Human Services, there are six administration offices located on the second floor, along with the Executive Boardroom and Accounting Department. That takes up half the floor.
Touring the future office space, Coulson said the administrative offices would be completed by the end of September.
The balance of the second floor, as well as the whole of the third and fourth, are private market rental apartments, for a total of 34 suites. Those suites, mostly two-bedroom, were completed as of Sept. 1. Coulson said some were occupied as of the first of the month, and a total of 17 will be occupied by the end of the month.
“There is an application process and we’re making sure we get the right kind of people in the building,” Coulson said. “Now that it looks like its open, we’re getting a lot of phone calls.”
There is currently a shortage of upper-end rental apartments in Port Alberni. Coulson said Uchucklesaht did a market analysis and determined that the project would be viable.
“We had a company come in and do an analysis of all the apartments in Port Alberni, and what they are being rented for,” Coulson said. “We did a cost analysis of what we could rent ours for, and set our prices by that.
“We didn’t set rates that would be keeping people out. But obviously, fourth-floor with a water view is going to go for higher than second-floor/parking lot. But it’s not Vancouver rates, by any means.”
The roof is currently empty, but the plan is to install garden boxes that will be available for tenants.
“We’re also planning to install solar panels for pre-heating in the heating system,” Coulson noted.
All suites are equipped with an independent heat-pump system that also provides air-conditioning, but there is some linkage within the building to transfer heat (or cold) as needed, he explained.
The timing of the opening is especially good. The current influx of out-of-towners arriving to Port Alberni long for lower-priced houses or rental accommodation.
“Most of the people coming in are in their sixties, selling their homes and moving to a smaller town, or locals doing the same thing,” Coulson said. “I have someone from Surrey just moved in, as well as people from Victoria and Nanaimo.”
The construction trailers are located on the former Dennis Jonsson Motor Products parking lot. When the project is complete, Coulson said the trailers will move out and the site will be incorporated into the Uchucklesaht complex.
“We have rented it from the city on a 33-year renewable lease. There will be green space and some administrative parking.”
