Facts and Figures

The city of Nanaimo lies on the east coast of the island of Vancouver in British Columbia. With its 90,504 inhabitants, the city ranks 62nd in Canada population-wise.

Why Nanaimo, BC

Are you considering moving your business (warehouse, yard, or industrial shop) to Nanaimo, BC? Well, you can decide better if you know all the pros. The following are some reasons why you might want to move to Nanaimo [1]:

Center of the Vancouver island: The city of Nanaimo lies in the center of Vancouver island with just a 10-minute drive from the saltwater beach, town lake beach, and Mount Benson.

Businesses are moving there: There were more than 6000 business licenses issued in 2019 with a yearly increase of 9%. This represents the ongoing trend of businesses developing there. So why not have a warehouse or yard there to support these businesses.

A construction boom is on the way: 34 projects in the last 2 years had a minimum value of 2 million dollars. In 2009, the total value of building permits was 445 million dollars in contrast to the record value of 253 million dollars in 2007. The number of nonresidential building permits has also quadrupled on a year-over-year basis.

Cheaper lease rates: the city has one of the cheapest lease rates compared to Victoria or Vancouver. [2]

Easy Approach: The city is located on Highway 19 of Vancouver island and is just 38 miles away from Vancouver city. The city also has an airport with courier services like FedEx operating flights from it. The city also has a cargo shipping port, which is usually used for transporting forest products and oil.

Locations reserved for industries:

The key industries in Nanaimo are Manufacturing, Transportation and warehousing, and Construction. Zone I-4 of the city is reserved for heavy industries that are not compatible with residential purposes [3]. The areas which fall in zone I4 are mostly around highway 19 north of E. Wellington road in the area of Northfield. Some of the properties which fall under zone I 4 are also located along the coast south of Brechin road.

Areas with Heavy industries

The majority of the manufacturing plants for steel including Dueck and Delwood manufacturing are found along the Bowen road. If you talk about the warehouses, you will mostly find them in the port area or north of E Wellington road. Construction equipment yards are mostly located along Highway 19 in Nanaimo and Vancouver island.

Major heavy industry employers

Few major employers in heavy industry are [2]:

• British Columbia Ferry Services Inc.

• Nanaimo Forest Products (Harmac Pacific)

• Coastland Wood Industries

• RW Wall

• Hazelwood Construction Services

References

[1] https://www.bcbusiness.ca/Nanaimo

[2] https://static1.squarespace.com/static/57ab61a51b631bb0ce757ca9/t/59013324be65946ec3bdf19c/1493250869325/Nanaimo+region+Economic+Profile+2016.pdf

[3] https://www.nanaimo.ca/property-development/community-planning-land-use/zoning