Hilton hotel plan passes final hurdle
(Published in the Daily Gleaner July 27/10)

Fredericton city council has given third and final reading to a municipal plan and zoning amendment change to clear the way for the construction of a downtown hotel.

Dora Construction has already been lined up to start building the 126-room, 36-metre high Hilton Garden Inn adjacent to the city's $79-million convention centre and provincial government office building. Located on property that was formerly called the DiGiacinto building, the Asian Beef Noodle Restaurant abuts the land to the west and the new convention centre to the east.

The hotel will have a full-service restaurant seating 60 people, and a 30-seat cocktail lounge. The hotel will be connected to the convention centre complex by a pedway.

While the city received a handful of complaints about the west-facing wall of the building, which was shown in initial designs as a solid wall with a narrow band of windows illuminating the stairwell, the developer has agreed to work on the design.