Condo-hotel near Battery will get rough ride, councillor says

A St. John's city councillor says although he likes the plans for a new hotel planned at the base of the historic Battery area, he expects opponents to come forward to try to halt it.

A 123-room "condominium hotel" is planned for the former Power's Salvage property off Temperance Street, and near the thin roads that wind through the Battery, a small cluster of houses and buildings that line the base of Signal Hill and which have magnificent views of the harbour and downtown.

St. John's-based real estate company Nolan Hall is the proponent on the project, which has come forward just weeks after council rejected a plan to put a hotel on the corner of Prescott and Water streets because its height would have breached height restrictions.

Coun. Keith Coombs said he expects the new proposal for the Battery to also run into opposition, even though it meets height and other requirements.

"It should be an attractive building from the perspective of its facade and so on, and it should also meet a need in the city, and that's why these hotels and these developers are coming forward," Coombs said.

"I honestly believed the other one was fine but I will say in this particular case you're going to have to dig to oppose it but I'm sure there are those who will get out their spades, and they'll oppose it."

The proposed site is located within the Battery development zone, which faces tighter building restrictions than much of the downtown.

Architect Philip Pratt has advised the city he took steps to ensure the property fits within the city's guidelines.