RIMBEY — The overnight options in Rimbey have increased by about 60 rooms.
Work on a new hotel south of the Rimbey Hospital and Care Centre is nearing completion, with the business already accepting guests.
Cordell Cummings, a director with developer SJC Development Corp. of Calgary, said the pool is currently being finished and is expected to be ready for use in a few weeks.
Other amenities will include a waterslide and a hot tub. The hotel also has meeting space for up to 100 people.
“We’re pretty proud to have the largest conference room in the area,” said Cummings.
A number of units will have kitchenettes, he said, with four developed as suites.
The three-storey hotel is expected to operate as a Best Western outlet, with the hospitality chain still to issue its final approval.
“Then we can put our signs up and all that stuff,” said Cummings.
He’s optimistic about the local demand for hotel space, pointing to plans for the development of an ethanol plant in town.
The hotel is part of a new, 30-acre subdivision called Rimstone Ridge. Also planned are a pair of three-storey apartment buildings, each with 30 units, as well as other multi-family buildings, about 40 single-detached homes and a commercial area.
Cummings said the next phase will be construction of the apartment buildings, likely late next year.
“We know that Rimbey has a really low vacancy.”
SJC Development has constructed Best Western hotels previously. Cummings’ father Stan, who is also a director of the company, has a long history of developing hotels, apartments, schools and other buildings.
He was born and raised in Rimbey.
Other partners in the business are Stan’s wife Karen Conover and her son Jason Acorn.
hrichards@www.reddeeradvocate.com