Submitted by Castlegar Chamber of Commerce
The time has come for us to say goodbye to the present Castlegar and District Visitors Centre building.
Built in 1986, the building has fallen in to disrepair due to severe foundation issues. It has been quite the journey, with thirty-six years of delivering services to the region, community, businesses and visitors. With an average of 12,500 visitors annually, the Visitors Centre has serviced an impressive 450,000 people during its operation, offering directions, promotion of the region and referrals to all of our tourism assets.
During the same period, the Chamber of Commerce serviced over 8,640 businesses through a variety of advocacy and support programs that assist businesses to sustain and prosper.Over the years, the Chamber of Commerce expanded its services to include Destination Castlegar, our local destination marketing organization and economic development services.
We are incredibly proud of the services that we have offered and for the staff, board of directors, and volunteers that made things happen, including the creation of the current building.
Demolition work is set to begin this week and will be done by local business, Civil Tech Services Limited. The demolition will include the building and the entire parking lot with a dedicated gravel pathway to the north EV charging stations.
We look forward to sharing our new building, the Confluence of Tourism and Economic Development, which will be a community space located on the same lot. The tender process will start by September 2022 with completion in 2023.
The Confluence is a one of a kind, 7,000 square foot, passive certified, primarily mass timber building that brings together a North Wing which will house the Destination Marketing Organization, Chamber of Commerce, Economic Development Program, and organizations via satellite offices that service the business and community in the Mercer Celgar board room.
The South Wing offers the first co-working space in Castlegar, which will be a 24/7 accessible space for those wanting to utilize it on a monthly and/or daily basis. This wing also hosts lease offices expected to attract tech-related businesses, a lounge/kitchen and meeting spaces. The two wings are brought together with the iconic West Kootenay Visitors Centre that will service the entire region. We anticipate a high volume of traffic, domestic and international, through the new Confluence building.
See a 3D fly-through video to experience the Confluence at https://bit.ly/3uYjhat.
Contact the chamber to learn more at 250.365.6313 or visit castlegarconfluence.com.
newsroom@castlegarnews.com
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