Powell River’s mall is getting a new anchor tenant, prompting a major overhaul.
Earlier this month city council reviewed the details of a development permit to close off one end of the Town Centre Mall, change the entrances, improve the parking lot, and add a patio.
Jason Gow, Powell River’s director of planning, told council August 17 the mall owner won’t be able to make all the changes triggered by the development permit, but some leniency is OK.
“This is a piecemeal approach, but it’s one that staff support and see the rehabilitation of the mall property as being a multi-phase process,” he says. “What I’m getting at there is if we raise the hammer too high, we’re probably not going to get any change there at all, and this is a site that needs some change.”
Councilors raised concerns about what the development will do to the bus loop and referred the topic to BC Transit for feedback. However, they unanimously approved the development permit.
The new tenant has not yet been identified but will take 5,000 square feet in the renovated mall.
