The City of Port Alberni will be reaching out to the owner of the former Arrowview Hotel about cleaning up his property, as the demolition site has become “a bit of an eyesore.”
After years of ownership changes and delays, demolition of the derelict building finally began in 2019. The owner, Stan Pottie, and his crew from DJ Excavating in Nanoose Bay completed demolition in June of 2020, but not the cleanup.
The site is now covered in demolition debris and surrounded by a construction fence. City CAO Tim Pley said during a council meeting on Monday, Jan. 11 that the site is not unsafe, but “a bit of an eyesore” and has generated a few neighbourhood complaints.
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Councillor Ron Paulson proposed reaching out to the owner.
“If nothing concrete comes out of that, we could move on to a little bit harder line,” said Paulson. “But the spirit of cooperation has been pretty good.”
Councillor Ron Corbeil offered his thanks on Monday to Pottie for demolishing the building.
“But it’s been a long time,” he added.
On Monday, council asked staff to reach out to Pottie and find out what his plans are for the site. Staff will bring the topic back to the next meeting of council on Monday, Jan. 25.
In a later conversation with the Alberni Valley News, Pottie said cleanup of the area was delayed by COVID-19, but he still plans to have it finished once the weather clears up.
His ultimate goal is to put up a condominium project on the old land.
elena.rardon@albernivalleynews.com
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