Revitalization of the oldest pier in Tofino underway (PHOTOS)

Existing condition of the Ice House Pier in Tofino (top) and an artistic rendering of the completed renovations (bottom). (Google Maps/Leckie Studio)

The effort to revitalize the so-called “Ice House Pier” in Tofino recently reached the key construction milestone of completing the work to rehabilitate its foundation.

With substructure work now complete on the wooden pier, the oldest of its kind in the community and one of the few remaining fishery piers in BC, attention is now turning to renovate the buildings perched on top of the pier.

The passion project began in 2020 when Michael Leckie of Vancouver-based architectural firm Leckie Studio partnered with Austrian entrepreneur Wolfgang Rieder, who purchased the decrepit property in late 2019 during its foreclosure sale.

Shortly after the acquisition, Ha’oom Fisheries Society, which works closely with the area’s five local First Nations, began operating out of one of the buildings on the pier following some initial renovations.

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Without the extensive rehabilitation work, given the severely poor condition of the 1962-built structure, the pier would inevitably further deteriorate and disintegrate. Prior to Rieder’s purchase, the pier had not been used for years, and the two industrial buildings and small crane had been neglected.

Existing condition of the Ice House Pier in Tofino. (Andrew Latreille/Submitted)

Engineering modelling of the Ice House Pier in Tofino. (Submitted)

The pier was originally used as a shrimp and salmon processing facility for the Tofino Packing Company. It underwent a number of modifications and expansions over the subsequent decades, including the addition of a large ice factory at the head of the pier — used to fill the storage holds of deep-sea fishing trollers that operated on Vancouver Island.

Significant exploratory engineering work — LiDAR scanning and digital 3D modelling — was conducted on the structure to determine the necessary “surgical precision” improvements for the old wooden substructure.

For the next phase of work, the pier buildings will be recladded with a combination of local Western Red Cedar and low-carbon cementitious panels.

Artistic rendering of the completed renovations for the Ice House Pier in Tofino. (Leckie Studio)

So far, about $6 million in private investment has already been spent on rehabilitating the pier, including over $3 million in substructure renovation work over the past 36 months.

Additional funding is needed to complete the remaining renovation work to the pier’s buildings, to reopen the Ice House Pier to the public by 2024. The aim is to partner with the First Nations’ local fishery and other Indigenous organizations to turn this into a collaborative mixed-use facility for the community.

“In my opinion, the Ice House Pier project offers both the full potential of the pier becoming a marine hub in one of the best locations in the Tofino Harbour, and with the right partners it has the potential to generate the same type of community success that is found at Granville Island or Pike Place Market — right here in Tofino,” said Rieder.

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