Howard, the world’s tallest gnome, may make his way to Langford.
Galaxy Motors, currently in Colwood, is relocating to a new nine-acre plot on Sooke Road near the Peninsula Co-Op Gas Station in Langford.
Phil Dagger, Galaxy Motors owner, hopes the new location will become Howard’s home.
“I saw all the news articles and the T.V. coverage and I thought hey it could work for us,” Dagger said. “He’s garnered a lot of attention in the last week or so as well, so it would make sense that he’d be an instantly recognizable figure if we ended up with him.”
Howard is an eight-metre tall gnome that currently resides on the Island Highway near Nanoose Bay on the property of a Chevron gas station.
READ MORE: Suitors lining up for Howard the Gnome
Bridget Matewish — granddaughter of Ron Hale, the man who built Howard — said the gnome needs to find a new home by April 30.
Matewish and her family have received dozens of offers from people who want to house Howard.
Galaxy Motors sent a proposal to Matewish to house Howard and also reached out to the company’s Facebook audience to see what they thought about bringing the gnome to Langford.
In 24 hours, almost 500 people voted in the company’s poll and about 77 per cent of voters thought bringing him to the city would be a great idea.
Brittany Ellis, who works in digital marketing for Galaxy Motors, said Langford Mayor Stew Young was also excited to hear about Howard possibly becoming a Langford resident.
READ MORE: World’s largest gnome needs a new home
Ellis said they should hear back from Matewish soon.
“She said they’re hopefully going to decide by the middle of the month, it’s a family decision, and then they’ll keep in touch,” Ellis said.
Galaxy Motors is also offering to pay to have Howard refurbished and transported to Langford. They hope to have some sort of plaque to honour Howard and the family as well.
“It sounded important to the family that there’s some kind of recognition… it’s the memory of granddad if you will,” Dagger said.
The new Galaxy Motors/GalaxyRV lot will be much larger than its current location. Dagger said it will allow them to better service customers with 12 service bays and both vehicle and recreational vehicle sales.
If all goes as planned, they hope to break ground on the new location around June and be up and running by spring of next year.
shalu.mehta@goldstreamgazette.com
