If town council approves, there could be another hotel going up at Collingwood’s east end.
Collingwood-based developer Dunn Capital Corporation (Dunncap) is aiming to build a second hotel on a Hume Street property where they built a Holiday Inn in 2019.
The proposal is for a four-storey, 51-suite Candlewood Hotel on the northeast side of the property at 502 Hume Street, which is between Raglan St. and Pretty River Parkway.
The town’s planning staff brought forward the Dunncap application to council’s development and operations services standing committee on Aug. 8, explaining to the committee that the original site plan indicated a three-storey office building on the spot of the proposed Candlewood Hotel.
The site plan approved in January 2019 included the 93-suite Holiday Inn Express and Suites built in 2019, a three-store office building, and a two-storey office building.
The foundation building permits were already issued for the two office buildings and foundations have been constructed.
As such, other than going from three to four storeys, nothing about the building footprint will change if the hotel is approved.
The town also already granted an exemption for the hotel for water capacity as per the current development freeze implemented by an interim control bylaw.
Exemptions are granted on a case-by-case basis through an application program for developments that are shovel-ready.
The town’s water capacity is dwindling and not enough remains to cover the development projected over the next four-to-five years without limiting the number of building permits issued based on the capacity left.
As such the town will issue a limited number of single dwelling units worth of servicing capacity for some building projects, allowing those developments to proceed despite the development freeze.
Dunncap was given 35 single dwelling units for the Candlewood Hotel project, but requires a total of 44 units (nine additional), which council is also being asked to approve.
Kenneth Hale, vice president of land development and acquisitions for Dunncap, told the standing committee he was pleased with staff’s quick turnaround of the application and Dunncap is proud of the project.
“It’s going to be a great addition to the site,” said Hale.
The Candlewood suites chain and Holiday Inn chain are part of the IHG hotels and resorts brand. Candlewood suites are meant for longer stays, and are typically equipped with a kitchen.
The standing committee approved the Dunncap request to change the planned three-storey office building into a four-storey suites hotel.
Council will vote on the matter at the Aug. 18 meeting.
UPDATE: Council voted unanimously in favour of supporting the application at their Aug. 18 meeting.
