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Posted Apr 6, 2011, 12:30 PM
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Registered User
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Join Date: May 2007
Posts: 1,859
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...and now hotel needs
Quote:
THE NEW OCC: The next downtown build
Elizabeth Howell
Published on April 6, 2011
With convention centre complete, focus turns to potential new hotel on Viking-Rideau land
That blank stretch of parking lot next to the Rideau Centre could become a four-star hotel in the coming years, analysts say, as the Ottawa Convention Centre increases the demand for downtown accommodations.
The 46,300-square-foot development site near Nicholas and Rideau streets has been temporarily zoned as a parking lot since 1992, and in December, owner Viking Rideau Corp. requested that be extended for another three years.
Along with the site at Rideau and Nicholas streets, Viking Rideau also owns a 34,600-square-foot development site that runs along Nicholas Street, between the Mackenzie King Bridge and Daly Avenue, that features the old Land Registry Office building.
An expansion of the shopping mall and a new hotel are the developments most often talked about for the sites.
“With a good conference centre, the number of delegates attending will create a demand for more hotels,” said Barry Nabatian, the director of research at real estate appraisal and consulting firm Shore Tanner & Associates.
“We have had no new downtown hotel for quite some time, and I think it’s time.”
The proximity of high-profile hotels nearby, such as the Westin Ottawa and the Fairmont Chateau Laurier, will likely make this hotel a four-star facility aimed at a more budget-conscious traveller, he added.
A residential development might be a more lucrative option in the long term, but Alam Pirani, the executive managing director of Colliers International Hotels, agrees a hotel is a strong possibility.
“If a hotel gets built, I think the only hotel you can justify building is a select service – a Hilton Garden Inn or Homewood Suites, or a Starwood Aloft or Element,” he said.
“(Something) that’s branded with one of the international brands, but that doesn’t have the full beverage and meeting facilities as it’s costly to build.”
Still, the executive director of the Ottawa Gatineau Hotel Association said he was skeptical that a hotel development would take place any time soon.
“I’m not aware of any new development (activity) and it would be a surprise,” said 🞵🞵🞵🞵 Brown.
He estimated such a development would cost $120 million to $150 million, were it to go forward, and he still foresees plenty of slack in the Ottawa hotel market for visitors given there was an overall occupancy rate of about 68 per cent across the city last year, up from 67 per cent in 2009.
“The overall investment market is very depressed, and to build a hotel close to the convention centre would cost a lot.”
Rideau Centre general manager Cindy VanBuskirk declined to comment on the development possibilities for the site.
In a December interview, Ms. VanBuskirk said there was no set timeline for the development of the land. She said Viking Rideau is constantly evaluating the best use of the land, but acknowledged the hospitality sector would be a good fit.
“There is going to be a requirement over time for an additional hotel in the downtown core, which could very comfortably end up on our site,” Ms. VanBuskirk said at the time.
“Prime real estate in the heart of the nation’s capital is not going to sit undeveloped for long.”
A timely development?
1979: Rideau Centre and Congress Centre built under a partnership between the federal, regional and municipal governments.
1983: Congress Centre opens.
1988: A proposal is put forward to triple the centre’s space to 225,000 square feet, which Laventhol and Horwath Consultants turn down.
1997: A regional government committee asks Viking Rideau Corp. and Minto Developments Ltd. for proposals to expand the centre for about $100 million.
2000: The Ontario government and others suggest a $150-million expansion to go on top of the former Eaton’s store, which closed in 1999.
2002: Then-provincial finance minister Jim Flaherty offers $25 million for the expansion if matched by the federal and city governments. The next year, provincial and federal officials each chip in $30 million for expansion, while the city contributes $25 million, the private sector $3.6 million, and Viking Rideau $10 million.
2003: Consultant Doug Fyfe estimates Ottawa lost $150 million over six years because there is not enough convention space.
2005: The city criticizes the Congress Centre for the estimated $115-million expansion price tag, as well as for not signing an agreement with Viking Rideau.
2006: Viking Rideau rejects the centre’s proposal.
2007: Pat Kelly named the centre’s new president after David Hamilton retires, and fires the centre’s chief operating officer. Congress Centre officials approve a plan to demolish the centre and replace it with a 200,000-square-foot building in the same footprint.
2008: The provincial and federal governments each contribute $50 million to the expansion, and the city offers $40 million. PCL Constructors Inc. and Brisbin Brook Beynon Architects win the construction contract to build the centre. Work begins in October.
2009: Officials decide to name the new facility the Ottawa Convention Centre.
2011: The centre opens on time and on budget in April.
Source: OBJ files
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