St. Albert could be home to four new hotels, one for almost each quadrant of the city.
Hotels are planned for Campbell Business Park, Lakeview Business District, Erin Ridge North and Bellevue Village.
Mayor Cathy Heron said having more hotels in the city would meet a need in St. Albert.
The city’s economic development department completed a study in 2014 that found St. Albert was in need of a new hotel. Heron said she felt there was a lack of hotel space in the city.
Heron said the rooms are needed, but so is the conference and banquet space that hotels provide.
She said people will leave St. Albert if there’s not enough hotel space when big events happen.
“Sporting events, for hosting the John Reid, I don’t know if there’s enough hotel space in the city to accommodate all of those teams. So Edmonton is getting the advantage of that, and I would rather St. Albert get that.”
There are currently two hotels within the city, St. Albert Inn and Suites and Best Western.
Once the weather warms up, Kota Construction will start developing a four-star hotel, called the Chalton, near the casino in Campbell Business Park.
Developer Dave Dyrbye of Kota Construction, said the location was ideal for the new hotel.
“Having the Anthony Henday is very important, being by the casino is important, being close to Servus Place, the list goes on and on,” he said. “The location seems to be excellent on all kinds of fronts.”
The Chalton will be a seven-storey hotel with around 140 suites. It will have added amenities, including a large convention area with capabilities of being divided into three separate rooms. The total capacity of the area will fit just under 300 people.
Two breakout rooms will be on the second floor with a seating capacity of 40 people each.
Three other hotel sites are currently in different stages with the city of St. Albert.
Landrex, the developer behind Erin Ridge North, said that part of the land north of Costco has been sold to a hotel developer, but wouldn’t say to whom. The company said the hotel developer is currently talking with the city regarding development and building permit applications.
Kota Construction, the company working on the Chalton hotel, has plans to build a second one in the Lakeview Business District. Dyrbye said the company is currently working on an area structure plan and the hotel will be part of it.
He said the hotel might be different then the new one being constructed in Campbell Business Park, depending on how well the conference area is used in the one currently being constructed. If it exceeds its seating limit, they could potentially put one in the Lakeview Business District’s location as well.
Bellevue Village had a hotel as part of its master plan. The village is located near the Enjoy Centre, which hosts many special events. The Cape Group, the developer behind Bellevue Village, said discussions were currently underway with potential hotel developers.
