The Greater Victoria Harbour Authority is exploring whether it wants the high-profile space vacated by the Pacific Undersea Gardens.
“One obvious [use] is looking at how it fits into the overall [Belleville Street] ferry terminal consolidation, and that’s a long-term thing,” Curtis Grad, the authority’s chief executive, said Thursday.
“In the short term, all I can say generally is that there is a high demand for moorage in the summer time particularly, but in the winter time as well.”
A decision would require “doing some due diligence on it to see what’s possible and what makes sense for that area. This is all very fresh. We are just looking at it. I would hope within a few weeks, we would have a few of whether we would like to proceed or not.”
The Oak Bay Marine Group, owner of the Undersea Gardens, approached the harbour authority about taking over the water lease for that location, Grad said. No decision has been made.
After 50 years in business and millions of visitors, the Undersea Gardens was shut permanently late Wednesday. The floating, 150-foot-long vessel is attached to the pier with arms and will be dismantled. The Undersea Gardens was started in Oak Bay and moved into the Inner Harbour, where it has spent the bulk of its life.
In 2007, its lease was renewed with the Provincial Capital Commission with four five-year terms. It can end in Oct. 2017.
The commission has offered to be flexible if the Oak Bay Marine Group wants to negotiate an early end to its lease. With the PCC’s approval, the company can also assign the remainder of its lease and options to another user.
The Undersea Gardens served as one of the main tourist attractions in the capital region. Its demise follows others such as the Royal London Wax Museum, the B.C. Experience attraction in the Crystal Garden and Fable Cottage.
Frank Bourree, tourism consultant and principal of Victoria’s Chemistry Consulting, said the attraction “was obviously not financially viable any longer. It has come to the end of its life cycle.
“People are not coming to Victoria to go to Undersea Gardens. They come for the natural beauty and the environment. They are now coming for whale-watching, sightseeing and restaurants. It’s a different kind of a market.”
Disneyland and SeaWorld have set the standard for attractions, Bourree said.
“They couldn’t possibly put enough money into that little facility to bring it up to a world class.” It would be impossible to get a return-on-investment by rebuilding Undersea Gardens, he said.
Susan Barcham, spokeswoman for the Oak Bay Marine Group, said: “The simple fact is the Pacific Undersea Gardens has had its time in the sun and [can] now be decommissioned.”
The Undersea Gardens’ gift shop items, such as clothing, stuffed animals and toys, will be donated to Santa’s Anonymous that. “We greatly appreciate the support we’ve received from our customers and the Victoria community over the last four decades.”
