Wildlife discovery centre in the works for uptown Port Alberni

A new discovery centre is in the works for Uptown Port Alberni.

Wild Tide PA will bring both a community gathering space and an interactive discovery centre to the Alberni Valley. Founder Greg Banman said his team has just secured a space and renovations will begin soon. 

“We’ve just entered into an intent to rent on 14,000 square feet,” Banman said. “It’s the basement of the Beaufort. There’s a huge project going right now with the investors to renovate that space.”

Wild Tide PA will be completed in phases, the first being the building and opening of the community hub. The intent for this space is to offer a place for community members of all ages to gather, play games, create and offer the possibility for comedy shows and other events. Banman hopes to have the space open to the public later this year. 

“This is a space that’s multipurpose, multi-use. It can be converted into a comedy club style or into a community drop-in centre where people can come out and play games,” Banman said. “Our goal is two days a week for the community hub.  The venue itself is focused on family friendly. Even though we will have 19 plus events, we are keeping it a dry space. If we do an event with liquor, it’s catered in, not a permanent fixture and that’s intentional. We found there’s an extreme lack of that in the Alberni Valley.”

The second phase of the project will be the addition of the discovery centre. This space will allow the public to view an assortment of creatures from the Pacific Northwest.

“This is not another aquarium,” Banman said with a laugh. “[Creatures] will be locally focused. Locally being Pacific Northwest so all around Vancouver Island and into Washington and Oregon. However, we are going to host exotic species as well.”

The discovery centre will also include exhibits and displays rented from other centres to provide a virtual component.

“We can present a lot more creatures that way, a lot more ethically, than if we stick a giant octopus in a small tank,” Banman said. 

The idea for Wild Tide came about from Banman’s curiosity around why something like this hasn’t been done before in Port Alberni. 

“The fact that we don’t have a significant wildlife rescue or refuge here…that has always baffled me,” Banman said. “I am aware we’ve had two different aquariums. My original goal was to start an aquarium and that’s how I discovered we’ve had two that didn’t work. This is where the plan started to pivot and grow.”

Banman began forming an organization to explore nature, history, heritage, culture and conservation. He hopes the centre will not only be a space for locals to connect, but a tourist attraction as well. 

“Tourism is the future and we have 1.1 million people passing through the Valley every year on their way to Tofino,” Banman said. “If we can get 10 per cent of that, that would easily fund the vision that we have.”

After months of networking and having conversations with community members, Banman began to believe his vision could really become a reality and an official board was formed.  The founding board includes a Uchucklesaht First Nations member, a business owner, a tax lawyer, a business masters student and a marine biologist. 

Now that the board is formed and a space has been secured, Banman and his team plans to begin making connections with the local First Nations.

They have not secured a business license with the City of Port Alberni yet as they will need to create a map and design of the new space before being considered for licensing. 

“A lot of it is high risk right now because we have to do the designing and the layouts and there’s no guarantee they’ll be approved,” Banman said. “I could put all this work into the space and have the city say ‘no’.”

One of the five members currently investing in the Beaufort, Alnoor Kassam, said they are “delighted” to have Banman and Wild Tide as tenants to the space. 

“Wild Tide and Greg have inspired us to create a destination that highlights the natural strengths of Port Alberni,” Kassam said.

Kassam said the Beaufort will become part of the Wyndham Hotel franchise with renovations expected to be complete by September 2026. 

Wyndham Hotels is an American hospitality company that is described as the largest hotel franchisor in the world. Locally, the Howard Johnson Hotel on Beaver Creek Road is part of the Wyndham Hotel franchise. 

Kassam said current residents of the Beaufort should not be affected by renovations. The five investors consist of Keith Mackenzie, Dale Haggard, Rob Namor, Jerry Wong and Kassam. 

For more information or how to get involved with Wild Tide, Banman welcomes emails at info@wildtidepa.ca.