Ontario Construction News staff writer
Winnipeg-based Rideout Bay Developments, (RBD) plans to launch construction on a new Studio 6 Stay Suites hotel in Hornepayne next year.
Construction is expected to begin on the $7.6 million project in the spring and completed by Christmas 2023.
The community of about 1,000 has been without a hotel since the Hallmark Centre closed in 2011, with the closure of a high school, library, shopping centre and hotel, among other services.
“It’s exciting. We need places for people to stay, for workers to come in, visitors, contractors, family members,” Mayor Cheryl Fort told CBC News. “We used to be a hub for the snowmobile trail. We lost all of those dollars and people that would come into our community. Also, when we have electricians or plumbers and that sort of thing having to come in to do big work in Hornepayne, they’d have to travel back and forth.”
Jemlor Hospitalite Inc. of Montreal won the construction contract and has been securing as many subtrades as possible from local communities.
Design and approval of the development, a 46-room hotel, outdoor BBQ terrace and two executive/honeymoon suites happened over the past few months.
“We raised our overall room count from 44 to 46 on the same footprint by obtaining some efficiencies of interior space utilization,” the developer said in a news release. “Added important elements will definitely please snowmobilers who they anticipate will begin visiting the municipality and in turn will add to Hornepayne’s tourism industry.
Design elements were also added to make the building hotel friendly to snowmobilers – reinforced storage racks in rooms, cleaning materials for snowmobiles, storage and security features.