THUNDER BAY -- The president of the company developing a four-star hotel on Thunder Bay's waterfront says work is restarting this week on the basement portion even while preparations to tender for the rest of the project continue.
"We are mobilizing and getting things ready to proceed," said Gisele MacDonald, of the Winnipeg-based ReSolve group.
Under an agreement with the City of Thunder Bay, the eight-storey hotel was supposed to be completed by April of 2017, but the city has granted an extension to the end of next year.
MacDonald told tbnewswatch.com that while work resumes in the lower floor, "where the guts of the hotel go," tendering remains to be completed for the bulk of the structure that will house a Marriott-Delta four-star hotel.
She said the developer is working with Pomerleau, an Ottawa-based general contractor and construction management company.
MacDonald added workers will be on site through the winter and beyond until the hotel is finished.
In June of 2015 MacDonald told Thunder Bay news media that the hotel would be completed by the end of 2016.
She concedes now that the project has "definitely had a few challenges" but adds that they are "nothing more than any normal development would have."
The Delta brand was purchased by Marriott in early 2015. MacDonald said today that ReSolve has been able to work with Marriott to get the hotel "right for Thunder Bay. This is a long-term project for me, and I just want to make sure that when we do it, it's done right."
Asked if she has found the project frustrating, MacDonald replied that "there's no doubt, but not frustrating the way that you would think, that this gets postponed or that gets postponed. I mean, there's a process for everything."
The ReSolve Group president said the city administration has done "a great job" and there are conference calls once a week so everyone is kept up to speed.
She said both the city and the developer have done their due diligence, adding that her company is making a significant investment in Thunder Bay. MacDonald pegged the value of that investment at $30,000,000.
Asked by a reporter if the project's completion target of 14-to-16 months from now could still be extended, MacDonald said "The surprise to me is how everyone thinks that (a slight delay past that) is such a big issue. I mean, people build houses that are six months behind."
She said that in the case of the hotel, one or two months either way is "regular construction process."
MacDonald went on to say that what needs to be acknowledged is that "we have a Delta-Marriott hotel in Thunder Bay. It is a four-star hotel that has services that I can honestly tell you are bar none to any community. It's in a secondary market and we're excited to be there. It's going to be there. And people should be excited about it."
A news photographer who visited the build site today found no visible signs of construction activity as yet. MacDonald said a team is currently "arranging for locates, and planning site staging and lighting," and there will be more signs of activity tomorrow.
