Groupe Germain Hotels will open a new $35 million four-star Alt+ hotel next year on the site of the massive Quartier Dix 30 development near Montreal.

The 168-room hotel will occupy the top nine floors of a 15-storey mixed-use building that is currently under construction at the Quartier Dix 30 “urban district” on the South Shore of Montreal, which has more than 300 stores, restaurants and bars.

It will be the first Canadian location for Groupe Germain’s new Alt+ banner but not the company’s first hotel at the Quartier Dix 30 site in Brossard.

Since 2007, the company has had a 158-room hotel at the site called Hotel Alt Quartier Dix 30. “It’s doing very well,” said Julie Tremblay, national public relations manager at Groupe Germain, of the Hotel Alt Quartier Dix 30. “Our research and customer comments showed a need for more hotel rooms in the area.”

Tremblay would not reveal the occupancy rate for the existing hotel but said “we’re very satisfied. It’s been very popular for several years.”

Attracting Quebec business travellers

The majority of guests at the existing hotel are Quebecers. Many are business travellers visiting head offices and industries in the area or people taking mini-shopping vacations at Dix 30.

Tremblay expects visitors to the new Alt+ Hotel Quartier Dix 30 hotel to have a similar profile but believes average stays at the more luxurious hotel may be slightly longer.

The 95,000 sq. ft. hotel will have larger rooms than those under the Alt banner, in-room extras like bathrobes and complimentary Nespresso coffee, valet parking, room service and an exercise gym.

The existing hotel, which is about one kilometre away from the new facility, does not have an exercise room or room service.

Surrounded by an urban park and close to shops such as David’s Tea, Apple and Williams-Sonoma, the building will include a restaurant on the ground floor and rental office space.

Office space, boutiques and restaurants

There will be 107,000 sq. ft. of Class A office space on the second to sixth storeys. The 10,000 sq. ft. ground floor will feature boutiques and restaurants and the Alt+ Hotel lobby. An underground walkway will also provide direct access to the indoor mall and adjacent heated indoor parking.

Groupe Germain will own the hotel portion of the building which is designed to achieve LEED Canada Core and Shell certification.

The hotel is being designed by architectural firm Lemay Michaud which has designed all of the company’s hotels.

Construction is well underway and has reached the seventh floor, said Hugo Germain, director of development at Groupe Germain. It will have 40 employees.

The building is growing at a rate of about one storey a week and the hotel should be operational within 12 months, he said.

Marilyn Cormier, general manager of Gestion Quartier DIX30 L.P., declined to be interviewed but said in a statement that the new Alt+ hotel will integrate perfectly with the fashion, design, gastronomy, well-being, nightlife and entertainment of Quartier Dix 30.

Groupe Germain’s national growth plan

Family-run Groupe Germain owns and operates six Le Germain Hotels and seven Alt Hotels across Canada, including one in Montreal’s Griffintown area.

All Alt Hotels have energy-saving features such as geothermal heating and cooling, heat recovery from indoor air that is vented outside and from the water used in commercial washers, energy efficient lighting and a direct digital control system for ventilation, heating and cooling.

Aside from the Alt+ Hotel Quartier Dix 30, Groupe Germain is developing new Alt hotels in Saskatoon, St. John’s and Calgary.

The 15-storey, 155-room hotel in Saskatoon is part of the city’s River Landing development project. The 148-room St. John’s property on Water St. on the city’s waterfront is slated for opening this spring. In Calgary, a 155-room hotel located in the heart of East Village and overlooking Bow River will open next year.

The company aims to have 20 properties across the country by 2020.

Gestion Quartier DIX30 L.P. is owned and managed in partnership by Oxford Properties Group and Carbonleo.