The Westport Festival development gets a boost with the hint of another hotel joining the planned Hampton Inn.
No official announcement has been made but on the Shindico website, the Home2 Suites by Hilton logo appears in the large space fronting the Red River Ex and adjacent to the MTS Iceplex and Assiniboia Downs.
Make no mistake though, it is the complete success of the MTS Iceplex that is driving the hotel boom along Portage Avenue. For fourplex ice service hosts so many out of town teams that there has been a scramble for hotel space nearby.
Home2 is an extended stay hotel chain. It will be curious to see what client base will use the hotel. The Winnipeg Jets as well as the Manitoba Moose use the MTS Iceplex and the facility continues to see multiple tournaments a year. It is a quite busy area and can be even busier when Red River Ex is up and running.
No announcements of stores and officer at Westport Festival but can they be far behind? Rumour has it that Overwaitea from British Columbia is looking for space for one of their grocery stores in Winnipeg, possibly a Save On Foods. Expect to hear more in the next weeks and months.
This has been a guest editorial by John Dobbin.
To read more from John, visit his blog Observations, Reservations, Conversations
