The Community
Welcome to Harbourview District
Be part of an emerging urban master-planned community that will invigorate this downtown south-end neighbourhood in an unprecedented way. Picture living in a walkable enclave brimming with historic charm, ocean and mountain views, and amenities urbanites want and need! It’s all possible.
Harbourview District is a burgeoning, urban community residents are proud to call home – a lively, engaging, and thriving community-centric space that enriches the lives of residents, neighbours, and visitors alike.
Unparalleled Accessibility
Harbourview District is a truly walkable community located conveniently on the edge of downtown Nanaimo. With green space, pathways and generous sidewalks, inset street parking, bike paths, and easy access to the highway, Harbourview District offers unparalleled urban living.
AREA Highlights:
- Multiple bike lanes, geared for cyclists
- Wide pedestrian-friendly sidewalks
- Short walk to downtown
- Street parking
- Easy access to Island Highway
- Great pathway connectivity between buildings and surrounding community
- On-site commercial retail space
Min Walk to Retail and Restaurants
Min Walk to Harbourair Connect to Vancouver
Min Drive to Hiking and Biking Trails
Hour Drive to Mt. Washington Alpine Resort
Redefined City Living
Nestled on the eastern side of Vancouver Island, Harbourview District puts you in the epicenter of Nanaimo’s thriving downtown core, and a short stroll from a revitalized Commercial Street, giving you access to a wide variety of one-of-a-kind retail shops, like Archer and Arrow, Gabriel’s Café and Cold Front Gelato.
A local favourite, the Vault Café features great coffee and breakfast selections, all within walking distance to your new home. Port Place Shopping Centre offers a great selection of shops and services – everything from eye care to medical, banking and hearing services, and more, anchored by Thrifty Foods, London Drugs, BC Liquor, Dollarama and Starbucks.
In this ever-changing workplace, your new home is walking distance to The Network Hub on Wallace Street – a co-working space where entrepreneurs share affordable office space with like-minded individuals.
History
For thousands of years before coal was discovered in Nanaimo’s South End, the Snuneymuxw First Nations lived and fished along its pristine shoreline. The mining of coal drastically changed the landscape and became the centre of Nanaimo’s booming coal mining industry, quickly transforming the South End into a family-oriented neighbourhood. The area has over the years become a vibrant urban community combining renovated grand victorian homes, miners cottages, and more recent development, offering modern amenities, making it an appealing place to live, work and play.
Brief Timeline
Courtesy Nanaimo Archives
Snuneymuxw First Nations’ winter village and burial site dates back nearly 3,500 years. Their traditional longhouses dotted the shores in what is now Nanaimo’s South-end, and its people fished the nearby estuary.
1300AD
1850
Emigrating Europeans, hoping to make their fortunes in the burgeoning coal-mining industry, made Nanaimo’s South End its most populous district. Before long, Haliburton Street was home to a thriving community of residences, salons and hotels.
Courtesy Nanaimo Archives
Courtesy Nanaimo Archives
Esplanade Mine No. 1 commenced operation at the end of Milton Road. It was the largest coal mine operation in the area until it shut its doors in 1937.
1883
1887
May 3, 1887 two explosions at Mine No. 1 killed 150 miners, including 53 Chinese labourers. The tragic event is, to this day, the worst mining disaster in our province’s history.
Courtesy Nanaimo Archives
Courtesy Nanaimo Archives
In the 1950’s, many of the South End’s residential homes were demolished to make way for stores, motels, and services providing for the area’s developing commercial businesses.
1950
2018
Parkshore Projects breaks ground on its inaugural building, Outlook.
Parkshore Projects, in partnership with urban architect D-Ambrosio, design rendering for the master-planned community, following the guidelines of the area’s current zoning and official community plan.
2019
2021
Harbourview District welcomes their first residents with the completion of Outlook.
Snuneymuxw Master Carver Noel Brown contributes Harbourview District’s first public art installation at the entrance to Outlook. A second carving of a Sea Wolf (Orca) is featured inside the lobby.
2021
2022
Harbourview District’s second building, Prospect – North takes rise, and ground broken for South building.
