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Hotel plans unveiled - Jan. 17, 2013

Image provided
This is an artist’s rendition of the proposed hotel slated for construction next to the yet-completed Garcelon Civic Center, shown from the northwest, near the edge of the St. Croix River.

Kathy Bockus
St. Stephen
A local businessman will build a multi-million dollar, five-storey hotel complex on the St. Stephen waterfront.
Tom McFarlane made the announcement Thursday afternoon that his company, Spur Line Properties Inc., has applied for affiliation with the Best Western Plus hotel organization.
The 100,000-square-foot hotel will house 90-100 rooms, including suites. The fifth floor will feature high end, penthouse condominiums which will be sold and designed to each purchaser’s specifications.
The hotel will also feature a seafood-steakhouse grill restaurant, a pool, hot tub and an exercise room and will potential employ between 30 to 50 full- and part-time staff.
McFarlane declined to reveal the price of the project, saying only that it was a “substantial, multi-million investment.”
“The area has needed a project, not only like this, but the civic centre for years,” stated McFarlane. He said securing infrastructure like the hotel and the civic centre in St. Stephen would attract more business to the border town and allow the community to grow.
“There is no way on earth that I would contemplate building this project if it wasn’t for the Garcelon Civic Center,” stated McFarlane. “The synergy between the Garcelon Civic Center and the hotel is very important. The success of each one depends on the other. We look at each one of these projects as a catalyst to move the town forward and to attract more potential projects that will complement what we are doing here now.”
McFarlane said the hotel is trying to align its construction completion date with that of the civic centre, which is scheduled to open in October of this year.
“It’s an aggressive build of the hotel,” acknowledged McFarlane. “The schedule is getting tight but we’re working on it. We need the hotel open. It’s pretty hard to house hockey tournaments if we don’t have beds.”

For the complete article, pick up a copy of The Courier Weekend.