Vancouver Island and Coast Visitor Centre

History and Project Status

Discussions regarding the potential for a new regional highway gateway Visitor Centre in the Comox Valley can be traced back to the late 1960’s. With the construction of the Inland Island Highway 19, Comox Valley Economic Development (CVED) developed the Visitor Information Services Strategy and Vancouver Island  and Coast Visitor Centre Feasibility Study (2005), which identified the Comox Valley as a strategic location for a Vancouver Island  and Coast Visitor Centre as it is already home to regional facilities and attractions such as the Comox Valley Airport and Mount Washington Alpine Resort.

With the recommendations of the study, a Vancouver Island  and Coast Visitor Centre Committee worked with Alderich Pears Associates to create a Final Concept Document which captures the type of visitors, product themes and functions of the Centre.

In January 2010 the Federal Government of Canada announced $3 million in funding for the Centre, while the Island Coastal Economic Trust announced additional funding of $745,000. Trilogy Properties Corporation donated the land, located in Cumberland, for the Centre on the South side of the Comox Valley Parkway Exit 117 off the Inland Island Highway. Estimated cost of the new Centre is approximately $4million.