Hotel proposal moves forward with site plan approval

DAN CEARNS, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, for The Standard

SCUGOG: A Comfort Inn hotel development at Sunnybrae Golf Course took a step closer to becoming a reality, on Monday, June 22nd. At a meeting of council that day, councillors approved, in principle, a site plan application for the hotel project. “The Site Plan Application is proposing a 4-storey, 72 suite hotel; proposed to be a Comfort Inn, with vehicular access from Highway 7A,” read a report from Scugog Development Services Director Kevin Heritage. Mr. Heritage provided more information to council in a presentation. “The site’s located on the south side of Highway 7A, north of King Street.” The hotel will be located on the northwestern portion of Sunnybrae Golf course. The proposal includes “a small swimming pool and a self serve breakfast area.” The hotel’s parking lot will be for hotel guests only. According to Mr. Heritage, one of the conditions of the Ministry of Transportation’s approval of the plan is “the parking facility for the hotel cannot be used for golf course events.” Ward 5 Councillor Lance Brown questioned when construction could begin on the development. “The earliest I could see any shovels in the ground would be late fall. More likely [they would begin] probably early spring of 2021, and I would anticipate full construction, including the shell and all the internal workings of the hotel, would probably take approximately a year to complete, and the doors would be open at that time,” Mr. Heritage responded.