Planned hotel ugly, bad for traffic, Battery-area residents say

A 123-room hotel planned for a spot near St. John's Harbour is hard on the eyes and will be worse on traffic, frustrated residents of the Battery neighbourhood told a public forum Wednesday night.

Nolan Hall Real Estate wants to build a hotel complex, which would include a mix of condominiums, on the former Power's Salvage site on Temperance Street, at the foot of the Battery, an old neighbourhood at the base of Signal Hill.

Writer Bernice Morgan said the planned design looks like a factory, and the type of building other cities are tearing down. She said she doesn't like that the hotel, if built, will destroy another important city view.

"I have a small window that looks out on the harbour, and I'm frightened to death," said Morgan, who jokingly added, "I'm planning on protecting it with a gun."

Battery resident Alison Dyer said putting up a hotel with that many rooms will cause even greater traffic problems in an area that can already be difficult, including the tricky, five-way intersection at the base of Signal Hill Road.

"Because I'm not putting my kids at risk, and that's what I feel like it is here now," Dyer told the meeting, which will help advise council on its decision.

On the sloping hills of downtown St. John's, views of Signal Hill, the harbour and other city landmarks have become prized, and the city maintains strict development rules on height and other factors.

In recent months, citizen concerns about another hotel planned just a few few blocks away, on Water Street, prompted council to turn down the development, at least as proposed.

Bill Kelly told the meeting that trust is an issue for him, as Nolan Hall broke the city's development rules with a series of townhouse built years ago next to the Benevolent Irish Society. The structures exceeded the height limit for views from Military Road.

"All you have to do is look at that development across from the [Roman Catholic] Basilica. When it wound up, it wasn't where it should have been. It was way above it," Kelly said.

John Walsh, who has lived in the Battery for more than 70 years, thinks the area is losing its identity.

"I was down in the east end before there was any hotel, only one.… Now they're building hotels all around me," he said.

John Goodman believes the development will destroy a special part of St. John's, and urged council to protect it.

"Wouldn't it be nice if we could make decisions … about our city that took into account romance instead of just finance," Goodman said.