Kelowna's Holiday Inn Express is moving a few blocks north.
City council approved issuance of a development permit for construction of a new Holiday Inn Express on Highway 97 and 33 Tuesday, across from the proposed Marriott hotel development.
The six-storey hotel will house 120 hotel units. Part of the development also calls for a 17,000 sq. ft. HUB Commercial Plaza fronting the highway.
"We took special care to ensure this was going to be the right development at the right time," said PR Hotels Ltd. chief operating officer Jeff Krivoshen.
"We wanted to make sure that we were going to build something on this prominent corner that we could be very proud of, and that the City of Kelowna’s council and administration could unequivocally endorse.”
The approval comes two weeks after council turned down a similar application for the Marriott hotel complex. Council turned down the first development, partly due to the fact the parking lot fronted the highway.
Proponents of that development expect to come back to council with changes to the original proposal.
As for the Holiday Inn Express, construction is expected to begin later this summer with an anticipated fall 2017 opening.
Krivoshen says the new Holiday Inn Express hotel will replace the existing one on the corner of Highway 97 and Banks Road.
He added the old hotel will likely convert to another brand or become an independent hotel.