THE SUNSHINE Inn Executive Suites was given the go-ahead by council on April 22 and is now one step away from construction.
Developer Kim Tran’s March application for a variance permit passed third reading, securing his plan for the four storey, 90-100 room hotel with 13 or 14 condominiums on the top floor and a restaurant.
The back-to-back lots at 4812 Hwy 16 and 4813 Lazelle Ave., which the development will occupy, are currently zoned C3 Commercial (Highway) and at 65 feet, the structure will be twice what is usually permitted.
Adjacent properties were notified of the variance, and none have responded with concerns to date, said director of development services David Block.
The hotel and condos will span just over two acres of land with frontage on Hwy16 beside Kalum Tire and on Lazelle Ave. beside the Terrace Bowling Alley.
The application is now in the hands of the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure to approve based on an analysis of how it will affect traffic flow in Terrace.
Pending the provincial government’s approval, the project should be under construction sometime this summer, Block said.
Tran spoke during the correspondence section of council about the hard work that went into getting the project plans put together.
Sunshine Inn Executive Suites is one of two major hotel developments planned for Terrace. Last week, the city sold the old Co-op land on Greig Ave. to Calgary developer Superior Lodging.
Superior has plans to develop a hotel that will also contain 90-100 rooms and retail space, tentatively scheduled for next spring.
The Sunshine Inn proposal began as a hotel, but the new layout would see an additional 14 condo units added to the top floor.
Councillor Bruce Bidgood said previously that he is excited about this development plan for “small units to be owned by individuals or couples who don’t want a nuclear house that was built in the ‘70s.” This application is in line with council’s push to follow through with housing action plan recommendations, Bidgood said.
The first Sunshine development in Burns Lake opened 13 years ago, Smithers followed four years ago and one in Houston is nine months old.
The development has been touted because of its location near the downtown core and the fact that it has frontage on the highway.