Atlantic Place hotel proposal narrowly clears another hurdle with close council vote

A controversial proposal that would see a hotel built on top of Atlantic Place parking garage in St. John's is closer to getting the green light.

During Monday's weekly council meeting, councillors voted 6-5 in favour of a staff recommendation to amend the proposal for the 108-room Park Hotel project.

The amendment would see the building grow from 11 storeys to 12 — the original design height suggested by developers.

Under current zoning restrictions for that area, the maximum height of a buildings is 11 storeys unless an exemption is approved.

The hotel proposal, which began to make its way through city hall in 2013, has been an ongoing subject of debate in city chambers, with a split among councillors about whether the hotel should be allowed to breach that 11-storey limit.

After Monday's vote, the proposal for the building, which would be located at the intersection of Clift's-Baird's Cove and Harbour Drive, can now proceed with the next steps, which include the Halifax-based Sonco Group, the proponents, submitting a discretionary-use application and dealing with air-rights issues, as the proposed structure would hang over Clift's-Baird's Cove. 

Sonco Group will also have to tweak its building design once again before approval.

'Modern heritage': Hickman

The six councillors in favour were Sandy Hickman, Wally Collins, Debbie Hanlon, Jamie Korab, Deanne Stapleton and Mayor Danny Breen.

"I feel that that is a positive thing for the city, a positive thing for the downtown. Obviously it'll bring more taxes to the city as well," Hickman told reporters after the public council meeting.

"It'll bring modern architecture — modern heritage to downtown, let's call it — and it'll overall improve the look and the view from south side and from people in the harbour."   

The five against were Deputy Mayor Sheilagh O'Leary and councillors Maggie Burton, Dave Lane, Hope Jamieson and Ian Froude. 

The proposal has garnered backlash throughout its journey through red tape and project amendments, with some residents concerned the new hotel will take away from the historic charm of the area, while also further blocking the view of St. John's harbour.

Park Hotel will stand as tall as the adjoining Atlantic Place. 

Blocking the harbour

Burton — council's lead on planning and development — who voted to reject the building amendment, said she doesn't think councillor votes will change when it's time for the final vote on the building design. 

The project proposal will also once again go through a public hearing before it can receive approval from the city. 

"I know its design is subjective, but I think the increased height is a mistake because it exacerbates the problem of the already block format of the Atlantic Place and the Atlantic Place parking garage itself and does create the sense of walling off the harbour from that viewpoint as well," Burton said.

Whether the design of the hotel stays or goes, Burton said Sonco Group will engage with the local art community to design the art for the harbourside facade of the building.

"I think that if the developer wanted to engage with the public to see what they would like to have there, that would be a really good idea in particular," she said.

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