There was more than 100 people on hand to learn the new details of the downtown hotel project this morning.
Design changes and the sale of Delta Hotels to Marriott International previously halted work on the hotel which was first announced in 2012 with the intention of being ready for the 2015 Canada Winter Games. Until a week and a half ago, the construction site sat a silent and a graveyard of concrete and rebar marred the city’s downtown core.
“Since becoming Mayor I think the most asked question over the last 18 months has been; when is the hotel going to be built? My answer continually has been very soon.” Lyn Hall said
“And I got to the point where I would use these two fingers to say we are getting close.” he said holding them a few centimeters apart “Well today, here we are.”
Developer Rod Mcleod addressed the crowd, joking he’s earned his PhD in perseverance through the project.
The $35 million dollar building will have 174 rooms, 7000 sq. ft of conference space, 92 underground parking stalls, a pool and exercise room. Door are planned to open in 12-14 months.
The six story structure will be wood framed from floors 2 – 6, a point that drew cheers from the crowd.
The original Delta Hotel was announced with condos, Mcleod explains they dropped those for more hotel space. “We started off with that concept and then it was decided that the hotel was getting bigger. We had a feasibility that said it could take more rooms, so it was more practical economically feasible to put more rooms in.”
The project will not contain any ground level retail space as originally thought, instead a Marriott Courtyard Bistro and private restaurant.
Lyn Hall praised Mcleod for keeping the City in the loop throughout the redesign process.
“This certainly enhances our ability to attract large conferences, conventions and large sporting events which all add to our local economy.”
Hall pointed to the Riverbend Seniors Community announced weeks ago as another looming bright spot for downtown Prince George. Between that project and the hotel, he says it’s more than $60M in investment for downtown neighbourhoods.
Mcleod assured that local contractors would benefit, with local firms Equity Plumbing and Heating and Lakewood Electric on board. He says 200,000 person hours of employment will be created during construction with another 40 jobs upon completion.
