For nearly a decade, Aurora was without a hotel to call its own.
Last fall, a new Holiday Inn Express was opened in Aurora near Highway 404.
A second hotel, a Microtel Inn & Suites, just down the street is expected to be ready for occupancy.
Now a third, a proposed Hampton Inn & Suites, is continuing its latest phase of moving through town hall.
Last week, members of the accessibility advisory committee received the latest plans from developers on the six-storey 122 room hotel. The committee is tasked with reviewing planning proposals through the lens of accessibility, inclusivity and making sure any potential barriers are broken down before any groundbreaking takes place.
What was before committee last week was the third proposal for the site located at 4 Don Hillock Dr., across from the York Regional Police Headquarters near Leslie Street and Wellington Street East.
The committee found no objections to the proposal, noting the progress made to date on the site.
“We provided comments in terms of providing consideration for a Hoyer lift from platform beds in any of the accessibility suites,” said Mat Zawada, accessibility advisor for the town. “They went over the actual minimum for accessible suites in this specific hotel application. There was consideration for utility switches and amenities to be on wheelchair height in any of the accessibility suites. Consideration for barrier-free path of travel from the accessible parking spots to the front entrance ensuring that the front structural pillar does not prevent path of travel. There were no issues in terms of barrier-free path of travel.”
The latest hotel proposal will be subject to further meetings in the public planning process.
Brock Weir is a federally funded Local Journalism Initiative reporter at The Auroran
