The famous "McBarge" from Expo 86 is going upscale.

West Vancouver property developer Howard Meakin, who owns the famous barge that's been anchored in Burrard Inlet at the foot of Burnaby Mountain since 2000, has announced plans to refurbish the landmark and transform it into three restaurants that will be docked on the Fraser River in Mission.

It will be the first chance for many to enter the floating edifice since Expo 86, when it was anchored in False Creek for six months and could boast being the busiest McDonald's restaurant in the world.

"It will be a tourist attraction, there's no question about it," said Meakin, who bought the barge in 1999. "At the time we didn't really know where it was going to end up, but it's an icon from Expo 86 and it is a very well known structure across Canada."

Since then, the steel and concrete barge has been used as a movie set in numerous films, thanks partly to its design, which looks like a cruise ship from the inside. It has felt the footsteps of actors such as Wesley Snipes in recent years.

Meakin admits the barge looks a bit eerie inside right now, but that should change with a $5-million renovation to turn the space into a seafood restaurant, tap house and coffee shop, which will also connect to a new float plane facility on the banks of the river.

The entire cost of the project is $10 million and could be ready within a year, he said.

Though Meakin has a long-term lease with the province, he's still before city council to have the area rezoned.

He said Mission is the perfect spot because it's close to a large population that doesn't have much in the way of riverfront dining available.

"Between Chilliwack, Abbotsford and Langley on the south side and Pitt Meadows, Maple Ridge and Mission on the north side, there's a huge population," he said.

This is something of a departure for Meakin, who was involved in the revival of Gastown as a tourist district and whose company, based in an office next to Park Royal in West Vancouver, develops shopping centres.

The next hurdle for the project will come on Sept. 7, when it goes before Mission municipal council for first and second reading, after which a public hearing is expected.

tholloway@nsnews.com