It started off with the decidedly prosaic name Lot 5. But the public space at the centre of the Shipyards development to be officially opened this summer will from now on be known as Shipyard Commons, the City of North Vancouver council has decided.
Council agreed with a staff report that pointed out the name Shipyards is already recognizable to the public as synonymous with the area and allow for consistent marketing.
The city-owned Lot 5 in the centre of the Shipyards district is being developed by the municipality in partnership with Shipyards Developments Ltd., a subsidiary of Quay Property Management Ltd., which owns and manages Lonsdale Quay Market as well as managing Tsawwassen Quay Market and Nanaimo Quay Market, located at the BC Ferries terminals, and Victoria Public Market in downtown Victoria.
The completed development will include commercial venues as well as performance space, a public ice surface and water play area. The 60-foot-high Machine Shop structure is already in place over the outdoor public space.
Mayor Linda Buchanan said it’s important for the city to acknowledge the shipbuilding history of the site. “I personally don’t want to see that lost,” she said.
One name that did get dropped early on in the shipyard district development, was Mould Loft Plaza, “to make it more publicly palatable,” according to a city report.
Although the term “mould” referred to ship moulds used to make ships, city staff at the time were concerned the word would “generate negative reactions from the public,” according to the report.
Names on the approved list in the early days of the development included “Punchclock Portal” “Rivetters’ Row” “Blacksmithy’s Alley” and “Riggers’ Lookout,” among others.
