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Floating seaplane terminal pushed and pulled into Inner Harbour

Workers hauled on ropes and tug boats carefully nudged the new seaplane terminal into place in Victoria’s Inner Harbour shortly after 5 p.m. on Saturday.

Workers hauled on ropes and tug boats carefully nudged the new seaplane terminal into place in Victoria’s Inner Harbour shortly after 5 p.m. on Saturday.

A crowd of more than 100 clapped and whooped when the floating terminal was tied up between two piers where it will serve Harbour Air and Kenmore Air passengers.

“I think it is incredible. It’s a beautiful structure,” said local resident Teresa Balser. “It fits very nicely into the harbour setting.”

The plan is to have the terminal operating by early April.

At 3 a.m. Saturday, the H.M. Scout tugboat left Bamberton, pulling the terminal building from its construction site. The tugboat travelled at 2.5 knots on calm seas, covering the 90-kilometre journey in 14 hours. When it arrived at its new home, the building was unhooked from the Scout, which joined other tugs to push it into place. Workers hauled on green ropes to pull the building, which squealed as it rubbed the sides of the piers.

One of the most striking features of the 5,000-square-foot terminal is the wave-like shape of its roof, which will become home to West Coast plants.

Its contemporary design features glued laminated timber, large tempered glass windows, and silver-coloured metal siding. Its ceiling is all fir.

“We think this will be a landmark for Victoria’s harbour and improve the travel experience of the thousands of passengers who fly in and out of the capital on Harbour Air and Kenmore every week,” Randy Wright, executive vice-president of the Harbour Air group, said Saturday.

The eye-catching terminal, designed by architect Sid Chow, has been planned for five years, Wright said.

It will include a customs office, improved flow for passengers, passenger seating, WiFi, and charging stations for electronic devices.

A new outdoor deck with concrete pavers has been built as part of 15,000 square feet of docks, with room for a dozen seaplanes to tie up. The deck will link with the waterfront building housing the Flying Otter Grill and offices, which remains in place.

The 50-year-old trailers making up the existing terminal “have seen their day,” will be taken down in coming weeks, Wright said.

A new plaza with benches, grass, trees, and bike racks is scheduled to be finished by January.

“It’ll be a great place to view the harbour, watch the planes come and go,” Wright said.

He expects the plaza to open the way for the new David Foster Way footpath, to be built along downtown’s waterfront.

The terminal and plaza project will cost more than $4 million, coming in at about 10 per cent more than anticipated, he said.

Canpro Construction was responsible for the project. The terminal consists of a barge, which was built first, and the structure on top of it. The barge was built in about four months in Cowichan Bay and then towed to Bamberton, Wright said.

The structure took about a year-and-half to complete.

Concrete, Styrofoam and rebar were used in the barge, which stretches eight feet below the structure into the water.

Steel piles 65 feet long are being driven 40 feet into the seabed to secure the terminal and docks. On Saturday, six piles went in and more will be driven in coming week. Hoops will go over the piles at each end of the terminal to fix it in place.

Victoria Float Plane Terminal Ltd., made up of Harbour Air and Kenmore Air, have located their building on City of Victoria water lots at 950 and 1000 Wharf St. They have a 20-year lease.

Ian Robertson, chief executive officer of the Greater Victoria Harbour Authority, watched the terminal arrive. He praised the design and welcomed the investment in the harbour.

It’s possible the new terminal will be seen on television sets across the country today.

The terminal is next door to the Rogers Hometown Hockey national broadcast at Ship Point that will be part of the Vancouver Canucks and San Jose Sharks game beginning at 4 p.m.

Other nearby harbour projects include the Janion condominium building, the new Johnson Street Bridge, and upgrading at the Belleville Street ferry terminal.cjwilson@timescolonist.com