Hotel to be built at Ottawa Airport without controversial tax grant
A proposed hotel will be built at the Ottawa International Airport despite city council voting against a tax break for it.
Germain Hotels proposed a $55-million Alt Hotel connected to the airport this past spring, with 180 rooms, a restaurant, meeting rooms and covered pathway connecting the hotel to the airport terminal.
The company applied for a community improvement grant of $13 million, but council voted it down in April. Mayor Mark Sutcliffe said he was opposed to tax breaks for private businesses.
Both the hotel company and the airport expressed disappointment in council's decision but said they would continue to work together.
In an email to CTV News Ottawa on Friday, a spokesperson for Germain Hotels said the project will go ahead after all.
The hotel, now with 178 rooms instead of 180, is expected to open by the fall of 2025. It will still have a full-service restaurant, a gym, and meeting rooms and will still connect directly to the terminal via a pedway.
"We are pleased that the construction of the Alt Hotel Ottawa Airport at YOW is getting ready for take off!" said airport spokesperson Krista Kealey in a statement. "We thank those who have supported this project and helped get it this far. We look forward to watching this project come to life, introducing the Alt brand by Le Germain Hotels to our passengers and making a lasting impact on Canada's Capital Region."
Kealey said the airport would have more information to share about construction schedules in the coming weeks and will work to minimize impacts to travellers and employees.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
From outer space? Sask. farmers baffled after discovering strange wreckage in field
A family of fifth generation farmers from Ituna, Sask. are trying to find answers after discovering several strange objects lying on their land.
NEW Iconic Canadian song turns 50
Andy Kim's 'Rock Me Gently' is marking a major milestone, as it celebrates its 50th anniversary.
Oprah Winfrey: I set an unrealistic standard for dieting
Oprah Winfrey said on Thursday evening that she has long played a role in promoting unhealthy and unrealistic diets.
Prince Harry, Meghan arrive in Nigeria to champion the Invictus Games and meet with wounded soldiers
Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan, arrived in Nigeria on Friday to champion the Invictus Games, which he founded to aid the rehabilitation of wounded and sick servicemembers and veterans, among them Nigerian soldiers fighting a 14-year war against Islamic extremists.
Countries struggle to draft 'pandemic treaty' to avoid mistakes made during COVID
After the coronavirus pandemic triggered once-unthinkable lockdowns, upended economies and killed millions, leaders at the World Health Organization and worldwide vowed to do better in the future. Years later, countries are still struggling to come up with an agreed-upon plan for how the world might respond to the next global outbreak.
Toronto police called to Drake's Bridle Path mansion for another alleged intruder on Thursday
Toronto police say a man who allegedly attempted to access Drake’s Bridle Path property was taken to hospital on Thursday after an altercation with security guards.
Ontario family receives massive hospital bill as part of LTC law, refuses to pay
A southwestern Ontario woman has received an $8,400 bill from a hospital in Windsor, Ont., after she refused to put her mother in a nursing home she hated -- and she says she has no intention of paying it.
Flat tire on a highway? Here's why you shouldn't try to fix it
If you're cruising down a highway and realize you have a flat tire, you may want to think twice before stopping to fix it on the side of the road.
Storm-battered U.S. South is again under threat. A boy swept into a drain fights for his life
Dangerous storms crashed over parts of the U.S. South on Thursday even as the region cleaned up from earlier severe weather that spawned tornadoes, killed at least three people, and gravely injured a boy who was swept into a storm drain as he played in a flooded street.