The Elgin Centre in St. Thomas Ontario will see a new hotel open on-site in October of 2022. A Holiday Inn Express & Suites is currently under construction after delays due to the pandemic.
The $16 million, 95 room hotel will be 5 storeys, totalling 61,732 square feet, and will feature:
- 25 Suites
- Swimming Pool, Hot Tub and Fitness Centre
- Business Centre and over 2,200 square feet of meeting space for functions and business
- conferences
- Complimentary breakfast
- Outdoor terrace
- Outdoor walkway with easy access to Elgin Centre shops, restaurants, movie theatre & services.
The hotel is expected to drive foot traffic to the shopping centre as well as neighbouring businesses. Shopping centres have been adding non-retail components in recent years in Canada as landlords look to capitalize on density.
The Elgin Centre spans 305,000 square feet and is the only enclosed mall in St. Thomas and Elgin County, housing over 40 retailers and restaurants. Anchors include Metro, Giant Tiger, Dollarama, Galaxy Cinemas and Fit4Less by Goodlife. About $3.5 million has been spent in improvements over the past 2 years.
The mall sits on a 20-acre site and has over 1,200 parking spaces. Elgin County and St. Thomas have a population exceeding 90,000 residents.
Megan Pickersgill, Manager of Railway City Tourism, said, “St. Thomas is being noticed in so many ways and we are now seeing visitors coming for business, sports, arts and culture and heritage experiences. This new development will perfectly complement the existing accommodations in the region and I have no doubt that it will help Elgin Centre grow even further as a gathering place for our community and those who visit.”