New Pavilion & More Taking Shape in Manson’s Landing

Roy L Hales/Cortes Currents - A sense of momentum is building—quite literally—in Manson’s Landing, where work is underway on a new pavilion designed to bring community members together for music, events, and gatherings. This is the latest in a series of structures erected in the Village Commons. The pavilion’s frame was raised on Friday, April 11, 2025

“ We hope to have all the details done by the end of May. It’ll be in service this summer,” explained Richard Andrews, Project Manager of the Village Commons.

He and his three crew members had just finished erected the rear frame, or bent, and were breaking for lunch. There was one more bent to go.

“ You see these two forward footings. They will be taking yet another set of another pair of posts and braces and one more large beam. That's the big, long black package lying right there. It's about 39 feet long. They are are big glulam beams and the frame was made by Island Timber Frame out of Cumberland.”

“T here will be a stage built about 12 feet deep and 16 to 18 feet wide. Not a very high stage, but 8 inches up.  Behind it will be a wall so that we don't disturb the neighbors with noise.”  

“On the sides there'll be a pony wall, and above the pony wall on both sides. It'll be clear polycarbonate probably. That'll provide a wind barrier, so people who are using the stage won't have to deal with wind on their mics.”

 “There'll also be a big clear panel on barn tracks, that'll go forward to stop windblown rain”

Cortes Currents:  What are they going to do with the audience area?

Richard Andrews: “I’m not too sure yet. We'll probably spread out the soil and throw some grass seed down on it. There's no plan to do any kind of surface under the covered area. We don't have the budget, just getting this up is going to eat up the rest of our funding.”

Cortes Currents: Did you want to mention anything else that’s happening around here?

Richard Andrews:   “We have the Nook, which is the shared office space and shared meeting space. The Cortes Housing Society is making good use of it today, and they're the main people who've been using it so far.”

A block to the west of us, preparations for construction were taking place on the Cortes Housing Society’s premiere project. A four acre block had been carved out of the forest for the Rainbow Ridge Affordable Housing Project. Construction on the first building will soon commence. As we spoke, two carpenters were erecting a wooden fence on the project’s border with the Cortes Island Senior’s Village.

There was undoubtedly some mention of this in the meeting that was underway in the Nook.

Cortes Currents: What’s happening to the Village Common’s old shared meeting place, the Pod?

Richard Andrews: “T he little trailer, that's going to be repossessed by CCEDA and used as an information booth somewhere. I'm not sure what their plan is with it. What the Pod has been offering, the Nook will be offering more of the same, just bigger space.”

He pointed to some long containers, close to the stage.

“We have four C cans here and the two to the north of the site, closer to Manson's Hall are going to be used by the food bank. Their intention is to use them for food storage in Mansons because their facility attached to the radio station is too small for the amount of food that they're distributing. We don't have a plan for the middle one, yet. The other one that's furthest to the south will be used as the storage can for anything related to the pavilion. So for the lights, sound system, chairs, audio and what have you.”

Cortes Currents left before the final bent was put up for the pavilion, but they sent pictures later that day.

The new stage this summer will undoubtedly be well used this summer.