Tomorrow is a red letter day for the Delta Hotel and Convention Center in St.John's as it becomes Atlantic Canada's largest hotel and conference center. The Delta Hotel and Convention Centre has carried out a 15 million dollar expansion adding 128 new rooms, bringing the total to 403.

General Manager Terry Chaffey says the Delta also has more than 40 thousand square feet of meeting space, including new room products such as leisure suites and barrier-free rooms. There's also a 14 hundred square foot executive suite. Chaffey says the major expansion is a solid indication of the confidence the hotel's owners, Fortis Properties, have in the future of the facility and the province.

Excerpt VOCM Radio News, May 31, 2005

Emergency repairs were completed over the weekend and Harbour Drive is now reopen to vehicle traffic.

Harbour Drive will be closed between Water Street at Waldergrave Street to Bishops Cove from 7:00 am Saturday May 28, 2005 until further notice. A traffic diversion plan will be in place. This closure is necessary to facilitate emergency repairs to underground infrastructure. For more information please contact the City of St. John’s Call Center at 754 – 2489.

A St. John’s developer has been granted approval in principle to construct a $7 million residential condominium building on property formerly occupied by the Standard Manufacturing company in the city’s east end.

But the general manager of the Fairmont Newfoundland hotel is objecting to development, saying it will “seriously damage” business. St. John’s city council voted in favour of the proposal by well-known developer Paul Madden during its regular meeting Tuesday.

The brick building will be constructed on property located between Water and Duckworth streets, just west of Temperance Street. It will rise four storeys above Duckworth Street, feature up to 30 condominiums, with a starting price of roughly $300,000 and will include indoor parking for the same number of vehicles on the ground level.

The city’s planning department recommended approval, since the proposal satisfies the requirements for residential density and limits on maximum building height.

But in a letter to council, Armand Agabab, general manager of the Fairmont Newfoundland, expressed strong opposition to the proposed development, saying it will block views of St. John’s harbour and The Narrows from the Cabot Club dining room, as well as many of the hotel’s guest rooms.

“Our hotel has served as a landmark in this community for over half-a-century,” Agabab wrote. “Our location on the former site of Fort William overlooking the harbour is essential to what we are – a known landmark which is a key destination of visitors to our community and to the local citizens.”

Agabab said the development will “seriously impair” an existing business to accommodate a new one. “This loss would have a major impact upon both the dining room and guestroom business,” Agabab said.

Some councilors expressed regret that the view from the hotel will be blocked, but said there wasn’t much they could do. The city’s development regulations are intended to protect public views, but it is not the practice of the city to protect private views.

“I’m very disappointed the hotel is going to lose its viewplane, but it is beyond council at this point. It’s zoned for that,” Coun. Sandy Hickman said. Hickman said it was a “fine project” and praised Madden for his previous developments, which includes Spa at the Monastery and Suites on Patrick Street, the former Irish Christian Brothers monastery.

“The project could have been something that was quite unsightly, built with concrete, steel and glass, but here we have a heritage type of building that’s going to enhance the neighbourhood,” Hickman said.

The Water Street side of the property is zoned industrial general (IG), while the Duckworth side of the property is commercial central mixed (CCM). CCM zoning allows dwelling units to be located in the second or higher storey of a commercial building. under this zoning, a building height cannot exceed four storeys, or 15 meters. This zone allows dwelling units on the ground floor of a building as a discretionary use.

Coun. Shannie Duff, who chairs the planning and housing committee, said the building will reflect the character of other buildings in the area, including Devon Rowe, a nearby designated historic building. “It meets all our zoning requirements for the area, so I would have to say it’s an attractive development,” said Duff, who also chairs the heritage advisory committee.

“The only issue I have with it, and there’s nothing anybody can do about it as far as I can see, is that because it’s situated on the old Matchless Paint site, it will block views from the hotel public rooms and probably some of the higher rooms. “When people see that, there’s going to be disappointment because that’s one of the major feature of the Fairmont,” she explained.

Duff suggested that hotel could have done more to protect its views, since the Standard Manufacturing property was on the market for several years. “I’m sorry the hotel didn’t have more foresight in perhaps moving in at that point and perhaps negotiating some protection of its own views in exchange of development rights,” Duff said.

City staff have met with the developer and his architectural consultant, and have determined “there is no practical way to minimize obstruction of private views from the hotel.”

Reached by phone Tuesday night, Madden said he was thrilled to get approval for the project and predicted construction could begin in the next 30 days. He said interest among prospective buyers is very high.

“I’ve had calls from as far away as Yellowknife and Fort McMurray from people wanting to buy condos overlooking the harbour,” he said.

He said the building will cover only a fraction of the two-acre site. He also has plans to build a hotel, and perhaps more condominiums. “It’s going to be one fabulous development. It will be great for the east end of St. John’s,” Madden said.

Terry Roberts, The Telegram, Wednesday, May 25, 2005.

The General Manager with Destination St. John's, Mike Buist, is singing the praises of the St. John's Convention Center. He's speaking out against comments that the facility is a white elephant only open two or three times a month. Buist says the Convention Center has been a catalyst for 600 new jobs and close to 1-million dollars annually in taxes to the city in the hotel sector alone.

Buist points out over the past year the accommodation sector in St. John’s has increased by about 800 rooms, and much of that can be attributed to the construction of the Convention Center, plus it has added about 8.5-million dollars to this province’s gross domestic product.He said this does not take into account the impact convention delegates have on restaurants, taxis, boat tours, and attractions. Buist wonders how many new restaurants would have opened up in the province in the last five years if it wasn’t for the center, which enabled the city to host such high profile events as the Junos and Scott Tournament of Hearts.

Excerpt VOCM Radio News Wednesday, May 11, 2005

The VE, or Victory in Europe, celebrations will mark their 60th anniversary with a parade in the Downtown core on Sunday May 7th.

The parade of more than 1000 participants will begin on Water Street, just east of Cochrane Street, at 11:15 am. Participants will march to the War Memorial where there will be a short ceremony at 11:25 am.

The parade then proceeds to the courthouse where the participants will accept the salute from various dignitaries. Following the salute, participants will march to Ayre's Cove where the parade will disperse at approximately 12:00 noon.

For more information, please contact Elizabeth Casey at The Royal Canadian Legion, 753-6290.