The next phase of Spring Creek Mountain Village is moving full steam ahead despite the fact Alberta is experiencing an overall downturn in its resource extraction based economy.
Last week, Canmore’s planning commission approved a development permit for a new $37 million hotel and conference centre in the Spring Creek subdivision.
The 124-room Malcolm Hotel and adjacent conference centre proposal is a sign of a strong tourism-based economy here in the Bow Valley, according to developer Frank Kernick.
“Last year visitation reached a record high in Canmore and this number is only going to grow,” Kernick said. “We are doing our part to help address the town’s need for more lodging options to support tourism.
“The Canmore hotel market exists in a unique economic bubble from the rest of Alberta. We have an increasing number of Albertans that are opting for staycations and are choosing to visit the Rockies instead of venturing abroad. We are also seeing a huge increase in tourism from the U.S. and beyond due to the strong dollar and this is expected to continue.”
The hotel and 6,500 square feet of meeting space provided by the conference centre has been part of the original master plan for the redevelopment of Spring Creek and, according to Kernick, is the first traditional hotel to be built in Canmore in 20 years.
He said the design for the subdivision’s hotel and conference centre actually began in 2007, but was shelved the next year when the global economy seemed to collapse. Over the last year, Kernick said, the designs were brought back to life and the development represents an important opportunity for the overall community.
“This is my legacy project,” he said. “I want this development here 100 years from now.”
The approved development includes an eating establishment and retail unit as part of the overall development of the conference centre and hotel. The conference centre will be able to accommodate up to 350 people as well. Construction is set to begin in May at the entrance to Spring Creek off Main Street in downtown Canmore.
That fact was a cause for concern for nearby resident Liz Baker, who spoke at the planning commission hearing. Baker questioned how busy the intersection of Spring Creek Gate and Main Street will become with added development and construction traffic.
“I would hope whoever approves access for construction does not allow traffic to come from Main Street,” she said.
A Spring Creek area structure plan approved in 2004 sets out a vehicle trip threshold for the Main Street entrance at 3,000. Kernick explained before redevelopment was approved the number of vehicle trips through that entrance was counted and as part of approval, SCMV agreed to not let it exceed that amount when fully developed – that was 3,000 trips.
“Our commitment was that at buildout we would not exceed that,” he said, adding currently there are approximately 700 vehicle trips per day logged at that entrance.
Vehicle access was also an issue when it came to parking variances requested by the applicant. Planner Patrick Sorfleet presented the application to the commission, including 156 of a total 166 required parking stalls provided.
Sorfleet said the breakdown of those stalls includes 110 within a parkade, 31 on the street and one bus parking stall. However, he added there are 34 covered bike stalls required and 36 provided along with six outdoor stalls, totalling 40 bike spaces.
As for the design of the hotel, Kernick has named it the Malcolm Hotel in honour of King Malcolm III of Scotland, the namesake of Canmore and a nod to its highland heritage. It includes timber frame elements and will encompass an authentic and contemporary mountain feel with design in-house and in collaboration with Marshall Tittemore Architects.
