"Welsh-Owen Hotel"
From
www.timbanks.ca website.....
Kays to the "Welsh-Owen Hotel"....
We've been quietly working on this project for a number of months trying to "get all our ducks lined up" which might be a good expression to explain this project as it's been my experience with Downtown projects that there will always be some critics who love to take "shots" at anything new, but we're hoping that's not the case here... the media chased us down over the last few days so we decided to discuss it publicly knowing that a couple of big pieces of the puzzle still aren’t done and that’s a deal with CADC and a commitment from the Province that there will be a new Convention Centre built on the Transport Canada lands.
Here's a look at what we hope will be the finished product
http://apm.ca/hotel.jpg subject to a deal with CADC and securing the proper permits... in planning the project we've tried to reach a balance between "scale" for the neighbourhood and economics for ourselves as they probably both have to work in order for this or any project to get off the ground... the project involves purchasing the former Seaman property, the vacant lot on the corner and the Kays property and our new scheme involves leaving the Seaman building as it is with the Cinema and other tenants "intact" and trying to utilize as much of the backyard space as a courtyard and pedestrian area as possible... we investigated utilizing the interior of the Kays property for the hotel but structural grids, fire code and life safety issues related to the transformation into hotel suites or offices make absolutely no economic sense.
So we're now engaging a local architectural and engineering firm to determine the best options to insure that the street exterior elevations will be retained in their original heritage condition as a “must” for the finished product... we believe we have to be quite conscientious from a historical prospective with the balance of the streetscape designs for both Queen and Water Streets so the project "fits in" with the surroundings... the return elevation on King Street will be the existing Kays structure joined by an elevated building which allows the parking lot behind Kays to be retained as a valet and courtyard, but adds to the buildings height along King in order to get back some of the economics on the project. The land assembly is a significant dollar figure and add on about $1,000,000 in extra costs to "preserve" the Kays elevations, coupled with the cost of putting a 63 unit parking garage underground and the scale of the project is “driven up” in order to get back a reasonable economic return.
Initially we had just envisioned a 120 room hotel which is a pretty standard size for a branded hotel like the new Courtyard by Marriott in Downtown Halifax
http://www.marriott.com/hotels/hotel-photos/yhzcy-courtyard-halifax-downtown/ which by the way is owned by Jim Lawley, my fellow Board member at Killam Properties... although some may think we should only go only four floors high it just doesn't make any economic sense so we added another floor with 14 additional "furnished apartments" like we're doing with Killam Properties in other Atlantic cities
http://www.killamproperties.com/furnished-suites but in doing so we stepped the elevation treatment back about 12 feet from the street so it won't be as visible... we also added 6 condos on a very small 6th floor footprint which is also stepped further back from the street.
On the ground floor we've added some commercial space as "hotel rooms" on the ground elevations are just not accepted by hotel guests in a Downtown setting, but the good news is that the Confederation Bridge group and a financial business have taken us up on our offer which helps in making the project a reality... the hotel will have all the standard amenities like a pool, conference room, 4 meeting rooms, guest lounge, common areas and a full breakfast cafe, but no restaurant as our City is full of great places nearby.
How real is the project will be one of the main questions people may have and my response will be that we’ll work hard with the neighbours, the City and the Province to achieve a quality project with a “reasonable” return for our partners and APM... the plans are available at our office for anyone to review them and we're willing to listen to any practical suggestions or ideas concerning this project and implement them if they make sense... but please don't question our sincerity or ability to deliver jobs, investment and choice to our Community, as we're always willing to try... back in the late 1,800’s the Welsh-Owen Hotel was a landmark business on that block and we’re hoping to bring back that “grandeur” with a new form of life in what we hope to call “the Welsh-Owen Hotel and Plaza” and be proud doing it...
Hope it all comes together.
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I haven't heard much lately about the convention centre, but with this new hotel, they will probably go hand in hand. 
The only places that PEI needs Tims would be Souris and Alberton, because there aren't any near there. No more in C'town or S'side please! How Charlottetown can sustain 8 i will never get... But good to have some growth in the company.
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