The revised George Hotel design will be unveiled at a public open house at the Cedars Inn on Nov. 2, proponent Klaus Fuerniss has confirmed.
The open house will provide the public with "an update on where things are" with the waterfront hotel project, which underwent design changes earlier this year to address issues raised by the Town of Gibsons.
Fuerniss said the project architects and consultants would attend the open house and answer questions from the public.
In recent weeks, Fuerniss has invited some Gibsons residents to informal meetings where they were provided updates on the project, proposed for the corner of Gower Point Road and Winn Road in Lower Gibsons.
"These were more private kinds of receptions," he said. "I hope people liked what they saw."
The public open house is expected to pave the way for a formal rezoning application to the Town.
"That's basically the process," Fuerniss said. "We're following the Town's process."
Broad community support for the project is crucial, he added.
"It's not going to happen if the people of Gibsons don't want to see it happen. If they do want to see it happen, it'll happen. So we'll have to gauge the feeling of the community."
More details on the open house will be announced in the coming weeks.
The hotel project's original design was unveiled on Sept. 8, 2012, with more than 350 people filling the gym at Gibsons Elementary School.
The proposal was for a 96-room hotel and conference centre that would draw a projected 32,000 visitors per year and transform the Gibsons waterfront, creating a new social and cultural hub for the community. The design included about 30 condominium residences, a restaurant and pub, seawalk extension, expanded wharf area and other amenities.
According to the proponents' website (www.georgegibsonshotel.com), the project could get off the ground next year if approvals fall into place.
"Based on receiving rezoning approval in fall of 2013, development could get started in 2014 with projected completion 18 months from the construction start-date," the website said.
