The Regatta

Nanaimo is Vancouver Island’s second-largest urban centre and serves as a primary commercial, transportation, and employment hub for Central Vancouver Island. Strategically located approximately 110 km north of Victoria and 55 km west of Vancouver, Nanaimo provides critical regional connectivity via BC Ferries, floatplane service, and Highway 19, linking the Island to the Lower Mainland and broader provincial economy. The city has a population of approximately 100,000, with the broader Nanaimo Regional District exceeding 170,000 residents, positioning Nanaimo as a key growth centre on Vancouver Island. The local economy is diversified and supported by a broad employment base including healthcare, education, government services, transportation, tourism, port operations, retail, and technology. Major institutional employers such as Nanaimo Regional General Hospital, Vancouver Island University, School District 68, BC Ferries, and the Port of Nanaimo provide stable, year-round employment, underpinning sustained rental housing demand. Nanaimo’s role as a regional service centre has been reinforced by continued in-migration from the Lower Mainland, supported by relative housing affordability and improved transportation connectivity. Nanaimo has experienced consistent population growth over the past decade, driven by both interprovincial migration and natural growth. This growth, combined with limited new purpose-built rental supply, has historically put upward pressure on rental rates and contributed to low vacancy levels, supporting favourable long-term multi-family fundamentals. The Regatta is located in Nanaimo’s Departure Bay neighbourhood, a well-established waterfront submarket characterized by proximity to marine transportation, employment nodes, and daily amenities. The Property is within walking distance of BC Ferries, Seair Floatplanes, multiple marinas, neighbourhood retail, and waterfront recreation, and benefits from direct transit access with a bus stop immediately in front of the site. The location provides efficient connectivity to downtown Nanaimo, Vancouver Island University, major employment centres, and regional transportation corridors. Nanaimo offers investors a compelling combination of coastal lifestyle appeal, regional economic importance, constrained rental supply, and sustained population growth, positioning the city—and the Departure Bay neighborhood in particular—as an attractive market for long-term multi-family investment.