Builder eyes suite new hotel plan: South-end Hilton would add to developer’s airport lodgings
David Sali, OBJ
Published on August 17, 2015
An Ottawa developer that recently unveiled plans to build a new Holiday Inn on King Edward Avenue is now aiming to open a south-end hotel catering to business travellers in time for the city’s 2017 celebrations.
Manor Park Management wants to turn its property at the corner of Paul Anka Drive and Dean Martin Crescent into a Homewood Suites by Hilton with 93 fully furnished units, a pool, fitness centre, meeting room and breakfast cafe.
The new building would add to the developer’s other hotel projects near the airport, which include the Holiday Inn Express & Suites and Hampton Inn on nearby Gibford Drive. While there is no clear target date for construction to begin, the builder hopes to open the new Hilton facility in time to cash in on an influx of travellers expected to celebrate the 150th anniversary of Confederation.
“I think everybody that’s trying to build hotels wants them open for 2017, but whether that’s a possible goal, at this point it’s not clear,” said Dennis Jacobs, the private consultant who wrote the application.
The developer is still talking to potential construction managers and the project has no price tag yet. Manor Park had originally proposed a four-storey apartment building on the site, but that plan was put on hold.
Mr. Jacobs said with the builder’s other airport hotels operating at near capacity and the Southway Hotel’s soon-to-be-completed conversion to a retirement residence, the need for another lodging close by for air travellers was clear.
“There’s definitely a good market,” he said. “It certainly provides a convenient location for travellers. It’s also well-located relative to other business areas in the city. Because they’re suite-type hotels, it allows for travelling businesspeople in particular to set up an office, so to speak, while they’re here doing business in the neighbourhood.”
While commercial establishments such as banks and restaurants are currently allowed at the 3605 Paul Anka Dr. site, Manor Park is asking for the property to be rezoned to allow for the construction of a six-storey hotel with a maximum height of 17 metres. The company said the footprint of the proposed hotel would be similar to that of the previously planned apartment building.
In addition to the nearby hotels, a Petro-Canada station sits immediately north of the site, while an A&W fast food outlet and a Lone Star restaurant are just to the northeast. A two-storey commercial plaza is located east of the property.
“The proposed development is in keeping with the scale of the adjacent hotels and it would contribute to the Ottawa Macdonald-Cartier International Airport,” the consultant report said. “The proximity to a range of restaurants will provide walkable options for hotel guests.”
http://www.obj.ca/Local/Tourism/2015...dgings%0D%0A/1
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