Pine Centre Mall or the Civic Centre’s rotunda could be the home of Prince George’s Visitor Centre.
At tomorrow’s (Monday) City Council meeting, Tourism PG will present to council on the potential relocation.
According to a slideshow by Tourism PG, safety concerns and an inconvenient location on First Avenue are the driving factors.
Pine Centre Mall is option one for the relocation.
Tourism PG said there’s many benefits to having Pine Centre Mall as the visitor centre location, such as:
- High traffic from locals and visitors
- Easy vehicle access from Highway 16 and Highway 97
- Billboard signage available
- Ample parking space
- Co-located with many other businesses driving the local economy
- Opportunity to increase retail sales of local and tourism-related merchandise
They noted in the presentation the rent would be higher than the current First Avenue location, but an increase in visitor traffic would result in lower cost per visitor.
According to Tourism PG, Pine Centre Mall attracts 4.9 million annual shoppers.
Additionally, staffing costs would have to be higher as well, as an attendant would have to be present during mall hours.
The Civic Centre’s Rotunda is option two.
The benefits Tourism PG noted for the Civic Centre includes:
- Downtown Prince George offers significant growth potential, capturing foot traffic near attractions, restaurants and hotels
- Walking distance to downtown hotels
- Visitor centre would benefit from having a stable, city owned, long-term home
- Canada Games Plaza and the Civic Centre provide ample space for events supported by Tourism PG.
- Collaboration opportunities with the Library and the City
Tourism PG noted funding and planning rely on the City, with potential partners to be determined, agreements with the city, library, and businesses would need to address parking and access challenges, along with improved signage, and office and storage space would be a constraint.
They also provided a third option of continuing to use the First Avenue location.
Other items to be discussed at tomorrow’s meeting includes third reading of a rezoning bylaw for an apartment building on Handlen Road.
The full agenda can be found here.
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