[David1gray]

Construction of Millbrook water park could begin this summer, official says

TRURO - Construction of a new indoor water park and 100-room hotel in Millbrook could begin this summer, the head of Pacrim Hospitality Services says.
"That would be our aim," said company CEO Glen Squires. "We would do it by hopefully early to mid summer would be our target."
Plans for a 30,000 square-foot indoor water park and large hotel at the Truro Power Centre, which would be in partnership with the Millbrook First Nations Band, have been in the works for several years.
But the initiative, expected to run close to $30 million, has been delayed somewhat by the economic downtown throughout North America in recent years.
"We are still looking at development up there. As a matter of fact I expect to have a meeting with them shortly," Squires said of band officials.
"We are working actively to make something happen this year. And I have to say that I am much more confident in the ability to get things done, as far as hotels are concerned and related facilities, in 2012 then I have in 2010 and 2011. The borrowing and the equity environment has been very difficult. So we're beginning to see some resurgence and optimism in new development."
Pacrim currently operates the Super 8 Hotel at the power centre and also has a partnership in the Saltscapes restaurant there.
And while Squires believes another hotel could be a viable venture on its own, that is not the vision his company has for the site.
"Just building another hotel doesn't really accomplish what we want to do. I mean what we want to do is begin to make the power centre more and more of a destination," he said.
Past experience has shown, Squires said, that when hotels and water parks are built in proximity to other retail outlets, it creates more of a destination setting for people from both near and far.
"So, the hotel and water park, which have worked well in the past when they are built in proximity to other retail and stuff makes a destination where people want to come.
"What we found is when you create the retail with an entertainment environment, that people will come and stay for a day or two. And, really, what we want to do is, either have people from the Maritimes come as a destination or have people who are visiting from outside, when they're passing through, like maybe spend one less night in Halifax and spend it up there."
And given the development of a new regional hospital and civic centre in the near vicinity makes the project even more viable than before.
"Obviously with the hospital and the civic centre, there are some good things happening in the Truro area that are going to create some additional demand that hadn't been there in the past," Squires said.

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