Group Germain still moving forward to build Alt Hotel after tax break denied

Despite city council rejecting a proposed multi-million dollar tax break for a new airport hotel, the company is still planning on moving forward with the development in the near future.

The Ottawa Business Journal (OBJ) reports that Group Germain, the Quebec-based hotel chain, is still working with Ottawa International Airport (YOW) on a proposal to build a $55-million 180-room Alt Hotel that would be attached to the airport terminal.

Last year, Group Germain applied for a $13-million grant over 25 years under the Ottawa International Airport Community Improvement Plan (CIP).

While the improvement plan was created to encourage economic development at the airport post-pandemic, many councillors expressed concerns that the cost would fall on taxpayers and the application was later denied.

“I’m pleased with the choice we made,” Knoxdale-Merivale ward councillor Sean Devine tells CityNews Ottawa. “The hotel will likely move forward, should there be a need for such a hotel in that market, and the taxpayers are not on the hook for what would have been $13-million.”

Devine explained that if the new hotel thrives without having to rely on the grant it would be great for business as it would prove that business in Ottawa “can thrive on its own merit.”

Devine said while Ottawa is not of the size or scale of its neighboring cities, it is still trying to find its place in the global market place but in its own way without competition with other cities.