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Hill: Supporting the airport hotel will generate city revenue while keeping property taxes low

From David Hill, published in the Ottawa Citizen




City Council last year designated the Ottawa Airport, shown above, for a Community Improvement Plan (CIP) in order to stimulate growth. PHOTO BY TONY CALDWELL /Postmedia


The pandemic took a massive toll on air travel in Ottawa. Passenger volume decreased by 77 per cent and has yet to fully rebound. That’s why council last year designated the Ottawa Airport for a Community Improvement Plan (CIP) in order to stimulate growth.

These plans designate areas of the city that are in need of economic development or require land reclamation due to contamination and encourage businesses to take on important projects in those locations through tax incentives.


In the case of the Ottawa Airport, Germain Hotels, a Quebec-based company, had planned to build an airport hotel but those plans were dashed due to reduced ridership and the surge in inflation.


So why build this hotel using the CIP program? In order to incentivize national and international businesses to want to invest in Ottawa, we need to be seen as a business-friendly city, and that starts with a truly international airport.


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