Josh Lewis

Now that a Buddhist monastery in Brudenell, P.E.I.&nbsp;has been approved by the provincial government, construction will begin soon.

The entire project will take 10 to 15 years to complete, according to project manager Rob LeBlanc, but the first phase will be rolled out over the next year.

1,400-person Buddhist monastery approved by P.E.I. government

The P.E.I. government has approved a proposal to build a large monastery in Brudenell.

Nuns

In addition to areas for worship, the campus will include residences, classrooms, and recreational facilities.

Plan for new Buddhist nun monastery gets good reviews from public

Neighbours of a new proposed monastery for Buddhist nuns from The Great Wisdom Buddhist Institute (GWBI) in eastern P.E.I. are supportive of the plan.

Venerable Yvonne says the nuns are very excited for the project to gain approval. 

Yvonne 

nun monastery plan 

LeBlanc, president of Dartmouth architecture firm Ekistics, says the Great Wisdom Buddhist Institute will have three or four phases in total.

"It is a quite large project by any standard."

The monastery still needs approval from Brudenell, as well as the fire marshal's office,&nbsp;and its wastewater system will have to get the green light from the province.

The grounds will span more than 120 hectares in total&nbsp;on the north and south sides of Brudenell Road,&nbsp;with campuses on both sides.

It will eventually have space for 1,400 nuns, with teaching facilities, lecture halls, worship areas and recreation facilities. It will also have gardens, a greenhouse and both private and public walking trails.&nbsp;

Brudenell is working on updating its municipal planning strategy and zoning bylaws, LeBlanc said.

"My understanding is they're getting close to finalizing that. We need to create a dedicated zone for this type of use."

Rob LeBlanc of Ekistics Planning & Design was hired to develop a 25-year plan for the Summerside waterfront.

Rob LeBlanc

By next year, the project should be in the design phase for the north campus, and that's where approval from the fire marshal&nbsp;would come in, LeBlanc said.

That phase will include a parking lot, gardens, shelterbelt enlargement, a community trail network and a tree nursery, he said.

"There'll be a lot of activity in the next year or so."

The space will be open to the public most of the time and LeBlanc anticipates it will draw visitors to&nbsp;the area.

"I think it will be a wonderful tourism draw for the east end of the Island."

Court documents reveal details on infanticide case

Court documents name the woman charged with infanticide in the deaths of two babies in February of 2014 and November of 2016.

Thomas Argon was sentenced to 15 months in jail for an assault that left his fiancee blind in one eye.

PEI Provincial Court

Shannon Dawn Rayner is scheduled to appear in provincial court on July 19.

Bottle from P.E.I. turns up on Portuguese island almost 2 decades after being tossed in the ocean

Daniel Pamplona and his 7-year-old daughter Raphaela were at the beach in Lajes on Terceira Island, a small Island in the Azores — an archipelago in the mid-Atlantic off the coast of Portugal — when they spotted something unusual.

Daniel and Rafaela Pamplona hold the bottle and note they found on the beach.

Daniel and Rafaela Pamplona

Rafaela and Daniel Pamplona hold the bottle and note they found on the beach.

This model shows the plan for the Great Wisdom Buddhist Institute.

Buddhist monastery will take 10 to 15 years to complete

Will straddle Brudenell Road

'Dedicated zone'

'Wonderful tourism draw'

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