Algonquin Resort seeking town approval for expansion

Article content

The Algonquin Resort is seeking approval from Saint Andrews to add a spa to its grounds as well as employee housing.

Earlier this week, Saint Andrews council received a public presentation from Alex Henderson, a planner from the Southwest Regional Service Commission. The hotel, purchased in 2023 by InnVest Hotels, wants to add a Usva Nordik spa adjacent to the Prince of Wales wing of the hotel and the Fort Tipperary provincial historic site, and wants to replace the O’Brien House at Harriet and Carleton Streets with 20 units of employee housing.

Henderson told council that the land for both projects is currently zoned tourist commercial, and the hotel has asked to rezone it to “integrated development,” a sort of “make-your-own” zoning category that allows council to set unique rules. The proposal has been sent to the town’s planning advisory committee and heritage committee for comments, but a motion to set a date for a public hearing was tabled Monday in order to obtain better imagery.

“What they decide to do to enhance their business, I think they know it best, but we’re also a community right now looking at a heritage bylaw,” Mayor Brad Henderson said. “The Algonquin is one of the most iconic heritage elements of our community … so I want to make sure we get the look and feel of this right for our community.”

The spa proposal involves a 14,219 square-foot, two-storey building connected by a walkway to the hotel. The spa building follows the curvature of the hotel and is built with wooden clapboard to “evoke” the original materials of the Algonquin, rather than the current stucco treatment, Henderson said. According to the architect’s application, the clapboard will match the stucco pattern colour-wise.

The employee housing proposal involves replacing the O’Brien House, one of two buildings as part of the Algonquin Dormitories local historic site. According to the Parks Canada historic places registry, the dormitory was built in 1917 and the buildings are recognized as a local historic site for their Tudor Revival architecture design as well as their connection to the hotel.

The building is currently in “abandoned status,” and is not in good condition, Alex Henderson said.

Henderson said the new building won’t be in Tudor revival style but “evokes” the look of the original O’Brien House. The 18,783 square-foot building would involve 10 two-level townhouses as well as 10 ground-floor apartments.

The current zoning doesn’t permit either use, Henderson told council. Plus, regulations on building sizes feature limits capped to within 10 per cent of “the largest residential building on the block,” which isn’t possible to compare when your block has the Algonquin Hotel on it, he said.

Coun. James Hirtle asked if the variances would apply to any new owners down the road, and Henderson said because the rules are “custom-made,” they would not apply to a new development.

Henderson said that rules around building size are different when you’re considering large facilities that will have a considerable setback from other properties, and suggested a new category for this purpose.

The mayor told council he has met with InnVest a number of times and said both additions would help go towards making the inn a “year-round” amenity.

“The investments they are making into the hotel and the merit of both projects have a lot of benefit for our community,” he said. “Everyone knows that when the Algonquin is busy, the businesses in our community are busy.”

He said the community has a housing shortage and that “every unit they get for their management means that another unit can be open.”

InnVest is the majority owner of Algonquin Resort LP after acquiring the hotel last year. At the time, InnVest CEO Lydia Chen said “we will enhance every aspect of the guest experience” in a press release that indicated plans for a “multi-faceted renovation.”

Regarding the look of both buildings, the mayor said the new employee housing design “blends in,” but he he doesn’t have a “good indication” of what the salon building would look like in practice from the renderings.

Alex Henderson said architects “worked under the gun” to get those ready and that the renderings were not needed for the bylaw amendments. But Brad Henderson said they were hoping for better visuals before sending a project out for a public hearing.

Council voted to table the motion to set a public hearing date in June until updated renderings could be produced. A motion to refer the proposal to the planning advisory committee for its recommendation passed, as did a motion to refer the motion to its heritage committee for input.

Brunswick News made requests for comment to InnVest, Brad Henderson and Usva Nordik Spa and did not receive responses by press time.