Despite being unsure when construction will begin, Hostelling International (HI) said it is still moving forward with its plans to construct a hostel in the Jasper townsite.
“We had to do some major and minor modifications of the layout and the property, but things are still moving along,” said Alistair McLean, CEO of HI Pacific Mountain Region.
Discussion regarding the youth hostel, which is slated for four acres of land beside Home Hardware, started heating up in 2010.
Original plans for the hostel had envisioned a single storey accommodation, but McLean said the company swapped that out for a two-storey building earlier this year.
“We have been looking at different building options. The design is just about complete, but we’ve had to do some adjustments because of property setbacks and different federal regulations,” he said. “A long single storey just wouldn’t fit.”
The push for the project is to build a hostel that is more accessible and centrally located to accommodate backpackers, as well as new staff coming to town.
According to its plans it intends to to construct five buildings: a two-storey accommodation building with space for a maximum of 154 people, a single storey lodge that provides guest services and back-of-house operations, a two-storey staff accommodation building for 12 employees, a two-storey apartment building for the manager and assistant manager and a maintenance building.
HI has five wilderness hostels within Jasper National Park. Currently the closest is Whistlers, which is located seven kilometres from town, halfway up the SkyTram road.
A wildlife study, completed more than decade ago, identified the current Whistlers hostel as being located in an important wildlife corridor and indicated its 80 beds would be more suitable in town. According to McLean, once the new hostel is constructed on Sleepy Hollow Road, the Whistlers hostel will be decommissioned, the buildings demolished and the land remediated to allow wildlife to repatriate the land.
“We’ve kept in touch with Parks Canada and as far as I know that’s always been the plan,” McLean said. “That’s part of the deal.”
Parks Canada said it remains receptive to a proposal to replace the Whistlers Hostel with a hostel within the Jasper town site.
“Parks Canada is working with HI at the conceptual level to advance their plans to replace the Whistlers hostel with a new facility in town,” Steve Young, a communications officer for Parks Parks Canada, wrote. “Parks Canada will continue working with the Municipality of Jasper and the local business community to address the housing challenges within the townsite to allow even more Canadians and international visitors to experience the outdoors and connect with nature.”
The project is expected to cost between $9-million and $11-million.
McLean would not provide a targeted timeline for when construction would commence.
“Numerous outstanding issues must still be resolved and fortunately Parks Canada has not pushed a firm relocation date with HI,” read a statement on HI’s website. “As with any new hostel development project, the financial aspect represents a major part of the process. The ongoing global economic challenges has put a strain on our planned capital projects schedule.”
However, when construction begins, McLean said it will be a “a quick build.”
To help offset construction costs, Jasper council wrote HI a letter of support to accompany the non-profit’s application to the Alberta Lotteries Community Facility Enhancement Fund, in February.
McLean said the application is still being processed.
“All we know at this stage is that we’ve made it to second stage,” he said. “We hope to hear by the end of the year.”
Kayla Byrne [email protected]
