A new Hilton Hotel may be coming to Thornbury soon.
A proposal to build a new 69-room Hilton Hotel at 160 King Street (Highway 26) has been working its way through the planning process. The proposal would see a hotel on the 160 King property and two three-storey apartment buildings on the adjacent property at 150 King Street.
The two properties are controlled by numbered companies, owned by proponent Charanjit Aneja.
The buildings to be located on 150 King Street would include 48 total apartment units – 36 one-bedroom units and 12 two-bedroom units and 138 parking spaces. The hotel property would have 69 parking spaces.
Official Plan and zoning bylaw amendments are not needed for the proposal and the project is currently working its way through the site plan approval process.
On Nov. 21, The Blue Mountains council held a public meeting to consider the creation a permanent easement between the two properties. The easement would allow joint servicing, shared parking and access between the two pieces of property.
The properties are essentially located in between the Astec operation and the Thornbury Cidery building.
“(The easement) is effectively creating a functional relationship between the two properties,” town planner Adam Farr explained at the public meeting.
There were no public comments or objections about the easement proposal.
Andrew Pascuzzo is the planning consultant for the project and spoke at the public meeting.
“My clients are excited about this opportunity in the municipality,” he said.
The former owner of the property - Joe Halos - also spoke briefly at the meeting and praised the project and offered his support for the concept.
Halos noted that property was once railroad land, which resulted in some size constraints on the lands.
“It’s a tough site,” he said, and called the apartment/hotel concept “well thought out.”
Council did not make a decision on the proposal. A staff report will come forward to a committee of the whole meeting in the new year and then to council for a final decision.
