TAYLOR BOROWETZ

A rendering shows the side of the Holiday Inn Express hotel that will face College Drive and Field House Road.

On Nov. 7, University of Saskatchewan officials announced the signing of a long-term land lease agreement with P.R. Hotels Ltd. The Saskatoon-based company will be developing a Holiday Inn Express hotel with a Staybridge Suites wing for longer visits.

“We have been wondering if an opportunity was available on university lands for some time,” said Jeff Krivoshen, director of operations for P.R. Hotels Ltd. The company has had much interest in the land holding, of which U of S officials have been “good stewards.”

The hotel will sit on a two-acre section of College Quarter land formerly occupied by the Seed Barn, overlooking Griffiths Stadium and across College Drive from the main campus.

Aside from being a prosperous business venture, the development has clear benefits for students.

“It is a great opportunity for prospective students to come and stay and for parents traveling to visit students,” Krivoshen said. It will also serve to accommodate those who have come to do business, are visiting for research projects or are attending conferences at the university.

He also highlights the importance of allowing increased full and part-time employment and providing more jobs that are a necessity to many students, made increasingly valuable by their proximity to the university.

In a press release, Director of Corporate Administration Judy Yungwirth said the university will benefit from the development in two ways.

“This project allows the university to realize the first part of its vision for providing services in College Quarter while the financial benefits of the land lease will allow us to invest in further development of the College Quarter northeast precinct,” Yungwirth said in the press release.

This development will soon consist of P.R. Hotels Ltd. constructing the ten-story, 203- room building that will include the two hotel brands. Amenities will include buffet-style breakfasts, fitness and business centres, a swimming pool with a waterslide and complimentary internet. There will be four meeting rooms that can be booked by both guests and the public.

The Holiday Inn Express rooms will provide a mid-to-upper class hotel experience while the Staybridge Suites are designed for extended stays will feature a small kitchen in each room.

Yungwirth said in the release that it is unusual for a university the size of the U of S not to have a hotel to accommodate visitors, supplying the need for the project. Filling this niche will be “a great addition to the services we’re already able to offer.”

Construction of the hotel will begin mid-2014 and is expected to be completed by the spring of 2016.

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Photo: P. R. Hotels Ltd.ca