by EVAN MATTHEWS
Parks Canada has given the go-ahead to Hostelling International for construction of its new hostel on Sleepy Hollow Road.
On Tuesday Feb. 27, Hostelling International's regional CEO, Alistair McLean, told the Fitzhugh that Parks Canada has approved a development permit for the new HI Jasper location.
McLean says tree clearing will start as early as mid-March, and the new facility is expected to open and begin operations by Spring 2019.
“We’ve long known Jasper is underserved when it comes to affordable, accessible accommodation,” says McLean. “The new hostel in Jasper will nearly double our existing beds and bring them seven kilometres closer to town. We are dramatically improving the hostel experience in the area, and will be able to cater better to the evolving needs of our market.”
The new HI Jasper will be made up of four buildings on the four acres of land beside Home Hardware.
The main 25,000 square-foot three-storey building will house up to 157 people, according to McLean. The building will contain a mixture of room options including 25 four-bed shared rooms, 17 private rooms and five family rooms, of which some will be wheelchair accessible. While the new dorm room will see a max of four people in each room, washrooms will accommodate two rooms maximum, or eight people.
The main lodge features a fireplace lounge, media room, games room, meeting room, secured bike and ski storage, along with a full kitchen and dining space for guests.
Outdoors, guests will find an area to barbecue, two patios and a fire pit area.
A small café will be located in the main lodge, and operated by the hostel.
It will have a 46-stall parking lot.
“We’ve done this before, so we’ve seen what works and what doesn’t,” says McLean. “We’ve made tweaks.”
Two buildings will be dedicated to staff accommodation, totaling 6,000 square feet, and will house 15 employees, McLean says. The main staff accommodation will house 12 employees, housed in 12 individual rooms over the two floors, with a shared kitchen and living area for each floor.
Managers will be housed in two separate suites. The new facility will also see construction of a maintenance building.
The Kamloops-based company Horizon North will assemble the modular buildings.
McLean says 66 modules with furniture pre-installed are set to arrive in October.
“In a place like Jasper, you have a very limited construction season,” says McLean. “These modules dramatically reduce construction time… We’ll go in and do the foundation and site services, while at the same time the modules are being built indoors.”
Site clearing and preparation will start on Sleepy Hollow Road in mid-March, with foundations going in in early-June, according to McLean.
The existing hostel, located at 1 Whistlers Road, opened in 1970. The building will continue to operate until the new one opens, according to McLean, when the site will be rehabilitated by Parks Canada.
HI Jasper manages wilderness hostels in Jasper National Park including Beauty Creek, Maligne, Edith Cavell and Athabasca.
