By Curtis Galbraith

Construction at former York Hotel site to start within two weeks

Jan 31, 2019 | 12:58 PM

Construction will start within two weeks on the first new building to go up on the former York Hotel site in downtown Grande Prairie.
 
TurCon Construction General Manager Travis Miller says there will eventually be two new buildings where the York used to be.
 
“The first building is going to be 18 units of residential and one floor of commercial, so it will be four floors total. The second building will be very similar in terms of the aesthetic looks and will be built next year. It will be one building every year for the next three years.”
 
That third building will go up on the site of the former Germaine Park.
 
“Currently, as it’s proposed, the Germaine Park site will be similar in nature to the other two buildings, but it will be two floors of commercial and two floors of residential. Somewhere along the lines of 12 residential units and then two floors of commerical with a potential walk-out floor on the second storey that would maybe cater to a restaurant or some other nice commercial area down there,” says Miller.
 
All three buildings have to be finished within two-and-a-half years. This is part of an agreement with the city, which sold the land to the current owners for $3000 in 2017.
 
Miller says the owners see this as not only a business venture but a way to breathe new life into downtown Grande Prairie.
 
“The owner of this project is already invested in the downtown core, so they’re very much rooted in Grande Prairie and they very much want to see the downtown revitalization come through. I personally think that this is going to be a legacy building and they are really the drivers behind the whole project. I think it will be one of those buildings people will look at like 214 Place and some of the other major stuff we have downtown for years to come and they’re (the owners) very much invested in the betterment of our city and the downtown area.”
 
These same owners recently put up a new residential building along 100 Avenue just east of 98 Street.
 
Miller estimates 50 to 100 people will be working at the York/Germaine site at any one time while construction takes place.