Revelstoke city council approves Ramada Inn development

The latest hotel development in Revelstoke is anticipated to be a big welcome sign for the city, with a Ramada Inn earmarked for the empty highway lot near the entrance to Revelstoke.

President of Canwest Hotels Ltd, Paul Deutsch. Photo: Emily Kemp/Revelstoke Mountaineer

“It’s just a beautiful piece of unutilized land,” president of Canwest Hotels Ltd. Paul Deutsch said about the space on 1750 Trans-Canada Highway.

“People talk about how beautiful Revelstoke and its downtown is. Having that big piece of vacant land on left [of the highway] doesn’t reflect the beauty of Revelstoke, and hopefully doing this will finish off this piece.”

The plan is to build an 85-room, four storey hotel, which will most likely have the Ramada Inn branding. Deutsch’s group from Golden were part of plans by developer Hall Pacific for the previously proposed Revelstoke Crossing shopping centre. When a zoning bylaw application for that development was rejected, plans were adjusted and focused towards this hotel.

The empty site off the Trans-Canada Highway will be developed into a hotel. Photo: From council documents

With the land already zoned for commercial accommodation, Revelstoke City Council approved a development permit application at the council meeting on Tuesday, September 13. The application for the hotel was submitted by Horizon North, a Calgary-based construction company.

But due to the location near the highway, approval is needed from the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure before construction gets underway.

Deutsch said they’re looking to build the hotel over winter, starting as soon as early October and aiming for an early April opening. Using pre-fabricated modular blocks, construction won’t be at the mercy of snowy conditions.

The hotel will employ about 22 staff and while there won’t be staff housing, Deutsch said they are open to working with the city on a solution with the rising rental crunch.

“We’re definitely aware of it and are looking for solutions,” he said.

“It’s something we jointly need to take on as a community. I think there is still some very accessible and financially viable solutions we can come up with to alleviate the issue.”

This is a rendition of the proposed new Ramada hotel to be located on the vacant lot at the intersection of the Trans-Canada Highway and Highway 23 North. Photo: City of Revelstoke image

With a number of hotels already in Revelstoke plus two on the way — the five-storey, 68 room suite style hotel in Farwell, and the niche tree hotel Camozzi Bench on the boundary of Revelstoke Mountain Resort — Deutsch believes there is room for everyone to meet the growing tourism needs.

“I don’t think it’s going to impact anyone negatively,” Deutsch said. “I hope more beds means more bus tours that aren’t visiting Revelstoke, will visit. More tour operators are going to stop in Revelstoke, and more accessibility with more people in the stores and more people golfing.

“The more rooms we have, will allow us to increase more visitors to Revelstoke. I think the market is strong enough.”

A restaurant is expected to be part of the proposal, but that will need another development permit before it goes ahead.

“We’re talking to some chains right now, working to get the best possible fit we can, but I think it’s too early to be dropping any corporate names,” Deutsch said in response to a question about the restaurant brand.

The proposed Ramada Inn Hotel. Photo: From council documents

With news in the past of rejected proposed developments, Deutsch said this recent process has been a positive experience.

“It’s been a year and a half in the making, we’re super excited to be getting our teeth into this project and to be part of the community and be a contributing factor,” he said.

“The experience with the city is second to none. We hope to get other people coming to the city to let Revelstoke open for business.”

At the city council meeting, councillors were enthusiastic about the new prospects for the land.

“I was involved years ago when this property was purchased by the landowner and we recognized this a long time ago, this is going to be entrance to the community, the gateway, it’s going to set the tone. I’m glad to see development of this calibre,” said mayor Mark McKee at the city’s Sept. 13 meeting.

“I hope this is a just a good story and will happily see this go through,” Councillor Sulz said.

“It’s really nice to see some regional proponents coming forward,” Councillor Nixon said.