After three decades without a hotel to call its own, Orleans will become home to a brand-new Days Inns in the near future, city politicians and developers announced today.

The 70-room hotel coming to the corner of St. Joseph Boulevard and Tenth Line Road will boast banquet facilities able to accommodate up to 175 people, and will have a price tag of between $5.5 million and $6 million, estimated Bahadur Shariff of the Siljub Group, developers for the project.

"It will be a high-class hotel ... three- to four-stars," he continued.

The new facility will also create 20 full-time and 10 part-time positions to start, said Jay Mathewson, general manager of the Days Inn Ottawa Airport.

"There is a tremendous need for hotels in this part of the city," he added. "It's a new project we're really very excited about."

With the Orleans community rapidly growing, a development like a hotel is sorely needed, continued Orleans Coun. Bob Monette. Currently, any visiting sports teams or tourists are forced to head further downtown to find accommodations, he explained, meaning less business for the area.

The new Days Inn will also complement the upcoming Town Centre development on Centrum Boulevard, Monette said, and encourage both economic growth and further development in the east end.

"We will see future growth from this hotel," he added. "If we start somewhere, it will expand."

By Laura Cummings

Special to the Ottawa Business Journal