A trio of First Nations is partnering with a hotel developer to bring more hotel rooms to the Alberni Valley, as part of efforts to diversify and strengthen the region’s economy.
Plans call for a four-storey, 76-room Microtel to be built at 3355 Johnston Rd., near the entrance to Port Alberni.
The aim is to have building and development permits approved next month, said Patrick Schmidt, chief executive of the HFN Group of Businesses, the Huu-ay-aht First Nation’s economic development arm.
The project is a partnership between the Huu-ay-aht, Tseshaht and Hupacasath First Nations and hotel developer MasterBUILT, the Canadian licensee for Microtel Inns and Suites by Wyndham.
Stz’iumus First Nation opened a similar 81-unit Microtel in 2018 on its land on the Trans-Canada Highway just north of Ladysmith.
The three nations are applying for funding from the federal Community Opportunities Readiness Program, which supports First Nations economic initiatives. Port Alberni council members recently agreed to provide a letter of support for the hotel project.
The Microtel would be close to 39,111 square feet and would include a hot tub, waterslide and pool, Schmidt told council members.
The project is aligned with the city’s strategic plan and would create additional tourism opportunities and support regional development, he said.
Coun. Charles Mealey said he had no qualms about supporting the project, while Coun. Cindy Solda called it a “great opportunity for our community.”
Port Alberni, with a 2023 population of 27,000-plus, according to Statistics Canada, has historically depended on forestry and fishing, which remain a major part of the region’s economy.
But downturns in the forestry sector have hit the community hard over the years. Most recently, the San Group, with sawmills and a large remanufacturing plant in the city, has gone into creditor protection, throwing local residents out of work. Its assets will now be sold by a court-appointed monitor, with the city owed more than $1 million in unpaid property taxes.
Tourism advocates see their sector as a way to add stability to the economy.
The city is already working to transform a 43-acre former mill site on the waterfront, called the Somass Lands, into a mixed-use community with everything from light industry to homes.
Matthews West Developments Ltd., a subsidiary of Matthews Southwest, a major real estate company based in Lewisville, Texas, was selected in late 2023 to transform the site, which the city bought for $5.3 million in 2021 — four years after Western Forest Products shuttered its mill on the site.
The city announced last month that the first two stages of environmental remediation have been completed on the property.
As for the Microtel, Pat Deakin, economic development manager for Port Alberni, said the city has “worked long and hard for a new hotel and are thrilled this is coming into being.”
Deakin called Port Alberni a “gateway community” to popular west coast destinations such as Tofino, Ucluelet and Bamfield, adding the proposed hotel will showcase Indigenous entrepreneurship.
He said the new hotel will provide accommodation for some of the sports teams that take part in “many tournaments every year” but currently have to stay in hotels in Parksville or Qualicum Beach.
Port Alberni’s two biggest hotels, the Hospitality Inn and the Best Western Barclay Hotel, have a total of about 130 rooms.
Deakin said in the past, film companies have pointed to a lack of accommodation in choosing filming locations elsewhere.
Jolleen Dick, chief executive of the Alberni Valley Chamber of Commerce, called news of the Microtel development “exciting,” saying the region needs more hotel rooms.
Like Deakin, Dick said having another high-density accommodation provider “means that when we invite major events to come here, they get to stay in town rather than in a neighbouring community.”
