Town in northwestern Ontario looks forward to having a hotel for 1st time in a decade

It's been a decade since you could book a hotel room in Hornepayne.

The northwestern Ontario community of 1,000 people is about halfway between Highway 11 and Highway 17. It has been without a hotel since the Hallmark Centre was shuttered in 2011. The closure included the high school, library, a shopping area and hotel, among other services.

After working with a Winnipeg-based developer for a couple of years, the township announced it will have a new hotel within the next year.

"It's exciting. We need places for people to stay, for workers to come in, visitors, contractors, family members," said Cheryl Fort, the mayor of Hornepayne.

"We used to be a hub for the snowmobile trail. We lost all of those dollars and people that would come into our community. Also, when we have electricians or plumbers and that sort of thing having to come in to do big work in Hornepayne, they'd have to travel back and forth."

Ben Cohen, CEO of Rideout Bay Developments, said the new hotel will be built near the Three Bears statues, with a tennis court, playground and baseball field nearby.

Cohen said his company did a number of studies, including speaking with more than 30 stakeholders in the community to determine the need for the new business.

"In some ways, it's more difficult when there is no hotel. If there's a current hotel, or hotels, you can say what's the occupancy rate, what's the daily rate, do you need full service or limited service, what are the needs," he said. "When you're doing it from scratch, it's a little bit more challenging."

Hornepayne did have other accommodations, including some nearby cabins and outfitting resorts. But people looking for a traditional hotel stay were out of luck.

"You have a very economically viable community, with some successful industry there, and we thought there was the need and opportunity for a hotel," Cohen said, adding the project is expected to cost about $7.5 million.

"When the Hallmark Centre closed, it put the hotel in a quandary, and building a new hotel is a capital intensive project."

The all-suite hotel will be a Studio 6 franchise, Cohen said, and could spur on other investments in the community.

"We have a restaurant pad next door, and we're currently looking for a restaurant operator for what we think will be a 44 or 50-seat restaurant."

Cohen said his company did look at reusing the existing Hallmark Centre structure, but it was difficult because of mould, water damage and structural issues.

Construction on the new hotel is slated to start in the spring, with the building complete by December 2022.