Skip to content

Parksville Tim Horton's expanding

Mayor Chris Burger has called it a 'positive project'

Parksville's busy Tim Hortons is looking to double double its drive-thru and add more seating.

"This is a really good, positive project," summed up mayor Chris Burger of council's unanimous support Monday of a development permit application.

With a long term lease on a a 1,200 sq.m (13,000 sq.ft.) strip of land from the property behind the restaurant, the drive-thru lane will be lengthened considerably with a double ordering lane similar to recent changes at the Parksville McDonald's.

While some of the parking towards the front will be lost, the property will actually gain five spaces along with considerable re-landscaping.

A 46 sq.m (500 sq.ft.) addition will be built on the front of the building, expanding seating from 51 to 85 plus an outdoor patio with 16 seats.

Tim's will also add a 16 sq.m (176 sq.ft.) walk-in freezer on the back of the existing building, which will be retained.

The development permit includes a small, temporary building on the property that will remain open during the work, which is expected to take eight to 10 weeks.

Owner Ed Mayne said he’d love to start by April but it depends on the final plans from the head office and the city building permits.

“We will not do it during June, July or August, because those are our busiest months,” he said, explaining if they are not on schedule to complete the work before the summer they will wait until September, “but we will get it done this year.”

The work will include adding more efficent LED lighting in the parking lot but the limited scope of the work will not provide a chance to “enhance infiltration of surface water into the ground,” as encouraged by city policy, according to the staff report.

The additional drive-thru lane is expected to cut down on wait times and reduce vehicle emissions.