A GROUP of Vancouver investors with hotel developments in other busy regions now has its eye fixed on Terrace.
The group has purchased two large lots just to the west of Canadian Tire on Hwy16 with plans to build a hotel of 80-90 rooms, says group member Charles Sung Soo Kim, a Vancouver realtor.
“With all that is going on, with natural gas in Kitimat and in Prince Rupert, Terrace is in the middle,” he said of the city's location.
The group's customer base would be more focused on business and industrial travellers and not necessarily tourists, Kim added.
“We think there is definitely room for more accommodation,” he said.
The group already has a hotel in Dawson Creek and is working on a similar development in Alberta.
The group does not yet have a name chosen nor a franchise affiliation determined, said Kim.
Kim said the group decided Terrace was next on its list in anticipation of development growth through liquefied natural gas projects and other larger scale industrial projects in the area.
The city also has the advantage of having an airport very close by, he said.
The lots in question, one which was residential and one which had an industrial-related use, together amount to 1.5 acres and were purchased for a combined price of just under $520,000.
Kim said the immediate plan is to request rezoning to allow a commercial use, a prospect that fits the city's official community plan.
The lot that had an industrial-related use will also need some environmental remediation, he said.
The planned hotel would be the third such development planned for the city.
A northwest chain called Sunshine Inn has purchased a lot, also fronting Hwy16, immediately to the west of Kalum Tire. It is planning a construction start of next spring.
And a Calgary company, Superior Lodging, has an option to buy nearly 2.8 acres of city-owned land on the old Co-op site on Greig.
It is now waiting for the property to receive environmental clearance.