Penticton’s latest hotel proposal received praise from members of city council who approved the development permit for the six-storey 103-room Vernon Avenue.
Only coun. James Miller opposed the proposal, which would also see a two-storey restaurant attached to the hotel, after voicing concerns on the potential costs to the city, in particular, the selling of the property to the Mundi Hotel group at below market value and for a potential pedestrian walkway on Vernon Avenue.
As part of the contract for the hotel, according to city staff, the city has committed to providing upgrades to the Penticton Trade and Convention Centre and access between the hotel and PTCC.
The exact costs of those upgrades have not been designed and calculated yet.
READ MORE: City inks deal for $1.5M hotel near SOEC
The property was sold to the Mundi Hotel development group on a contract to build a high-quality hotel the city was looking for, based on a competitive bidding process started in 2020.
Overall the development permit met with approval from city councillors.
“It’s been 30 years coming,” said coun. Katie Robinson. “I’ve been working on this one since 1990 when I first got onto council. Today is just awesome. I’m just thrilled to see this and it is a huge step in the right direction for our Trade and Convention Centre and the city as a whole.”
Coun. Frank Regehr, who did vote in support of the hotel, aired his concerns for the lack of parking the development permit had, noting that there were 76 spots for the hotel, and no further spots for the 100-seat restaurant.
“We’ve talked a number of times about the shortage of parking when there are big events at the Trade and Convention Centre and I expect if this hotel is full in the summer, we have issues there,” said Regehr. “This is another example of where when we do the northern sector of the city, where parking has to be an issue.”
Coun. Campbell Watt responded to Regher’s concerns and expressed his hopes that in the future there would be more alternative transportation methods available that would not require the need for more parking spaces.
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