Calgary

Motel Village needs new name as it goes upscale, say local businesses

Some residents and business owners would like to give Motel Village a new name, as the once crime-ridden cluster of seedy run-down motels undergoes a facelift, in the hopes of attracting more clients and new businesses.

But experts recommend choose wisely or rebranding effort will fail

Local residents and businesses are pushing to rebrand Motel Village in the hopes of shedding seedy, low budget connotations. (James Young/CBC)

Motel Village in northwest Calgary isn't the official name for the commercial district that fills the triangular parcel of land nestled between 16th Avenue N.W., Crowchild Trail and Banff Trail, but it's the one that stuck ever since a spattering of motels, motor hotels and lodges were built in the 1950s and 1960s.

But over time, as the area became run down and a magnet for criminal activity, including a high-profile murder or two, that label became derogatory.

Yet in recent years, the area's complexion has evolved. Low budget motels are being replaced by higher-end hotels. And, anecdotally, locals say there have been fewer police visits to the village.

Now some local business owners and nearby residents say the area needs a new name to reflect its newer look.

"Motel Village has an old name, it's well-recognized but it's got seedy connotations," said Barry Clement, president of the Banff Trail Community Association.

"There's almost no motels left there and we're about to have quite a lot of much more urban development, including this large student residence tower," said Clement.

A 28-storey residential tower targeting university students is being built on a site formerly occupied by a budget motel and family restaurant in Motel Village. (James Young/CBC)

Name notoriety

It's not clear who coined the name Motel Village but at one point in time, it was the place to spend the night as travellers were heading into or out of Calgary on the city's western edge.

Some of the original motels, like the Mount Eisenhower Motor Court, the Highlander Motor Hotel and the Cavalier Motel, are now gone — to be found now only on vintage postcards.

A postcard captures one of the original mid-century motels that once stood in Motel Village. (Richard White)

But hotelier Rahim Lakhoo, who is part owner of the Best Western Village Park Inn and the Aloft boutique hotel, agrees the name no longer reflects the area's offerings.

"A motel is low budget. You get a room and that's about it, and you pay half the price," he said.

"And motels is what people that get involved in criminal activities, that's what they use, whether it's just for a few hours."

Motels is what people that get involved in criminal activities, that's what they use, whether it's just for a few hours.- Rahim Lakhoo, owner Best Western Village Park Inn, the Aloft

He says before he converted the Quality Inn to the Aloft, he used to get a lot of questionable clients carrying wads of rolled-up cash looking to rent a room. 

His policy was credit card only — but sometimes those turned out to be fake, too.

So to help curb crime in the area, he let Calgary police run a sting operation out of the inn to bust a prostitution ring.

He also recalls getting robbed at gunpoint in 2011, twice, just one day apart, when he used to operate VLTs in the lounge.

"No kidding, they robbed us of all our cash, and they had the audacity to come back again and rob us again," said Lakhoo. "That gives you an idea of what was going on in that place." 

But some say that since the Savoury Lodge — a notorious hangout for drug dealers, prostitutes and the scene of a murder — was torn down, followed by other old properties, including the Thriftlodge and the Royal Wayne Motor Inn, crime has dropped in Motel Village.

"I don't see nearly as many police cars coming this way, it's gone down drastically, and that's over the last five years," said Rosalind Colbourne, general manager the Best Western Village Park Inn.

The Thriftlodge was one of two motels in Motel Village torn down in 2017. It is not known what will be built on that site. (James Young/CBC)

University Village?

Lakhoo believes the newer hotels, including the Aloft, the Hamptons and Holiday Inn Express, should command better rates and better occupancies because of their location and quality of product. But he says people stay away because of the area's reputation and the fact that there are still some "undesirable" properties that detract from the more modern hotels.

He believes Motel Village is transitioning in the right direction and a new name should reflect that.

He says it's in city council's best interests, too.

"If they are going to try and implement that redevelopment plan, how are they going to attract investors if they don't change the name?

"If you are saying you are paying a couple million bucks an acre for land in Motel Village, people will say 'oh, are you going crazy?'"

He and others offer some name suggestions such as University Village, the Village or McMahon Village.

The name, Motel Village, refers to the parcel of land filled with hotels, motels, restaurants and stores next to the Banff Trail LRT Station and bordered by 16th Avenue and Crowchild Trail N.W. (James Young/CBC)

Coun. Druh Farrell says the idea of rebranding Motel Village surfaced several years ago, led by some of the owners and managers of the shops and hotels, when the city created a redevelopment plan for the area.

But she says their enthusiasm waned because redevelopment didn't happen as quickly as they'd hoped. Now as redevelopment starts to pick up again, she says it's a good time to revisit the idea.

"It certainly is a cue that things are changing," she said. ''It's also important that you don't just change the name, that you also change certain elements within an the area to demonstrate that something's different," said Farrell.

The Ward 7 councillor says she'll leave it up to the applicants to come up with a name.

Choose wisely

Marketing expert Nick Asik says a new name can revitalize a place and change people's perceptions but it's important to be authentic and choose a name that reflects the area, otherwise it can backfire.

"If they try to find some cool name, call the area Brooklyn or something like that, people will just laugh it off and it will be known as the crappy Brooklyn," said Asik, who is the creative director at Wax.

A postcard of the Travelodge along 16th Avenue N.W. that no longer stands in Motel Village. (Richard White)

Asik says it takes time for a name to catch on, and for some, it may never take.

"There's always going to people who refer to that place as Motel Village," Asik said. 

If they try to find some cool name, call the area Brooklyn or something like that, people will just laugh it off and it will be known as the crappy Brooklyn.- Nick Asik, marketing expert

He uses the example of Rogers Centre in Toronto. He says some people will always call the stadium the SkyDome, its original name.

But he says rebranding is often more effective with a newer generation because they don't know the history of a place.

Clement says the first step is to give Motel Village a voice, either by bringing it under the wing of its community association or by creating a business association, called a business improvement area, that can work with the city.

The other issue is, Motel Village isn't a formal name. Clement says he's not sure exactly what to do, how much money it will require or who will pay for the rebranding.

Meanwhile, some have already started to call it by another name.

"In the end, we just call it Hotel Village or Village, because the word motel just doesn't work here anymore. It's gone, should have been gone a long time ago," said Colbourne.