Oak Bay Beach Hotel offers second bond offering

December 9, Victoria, BC – Construction of the Oak Bay Beach Hotel is underway and hotel owners Kevin and Shawna Walker have initiated a new bond offering release which was launched today following the overwhelming success of the initial offering in March 2009. A second offering, fully subscribed, stands to significantly reduce construction lending on the $52 million project.

“We are following on the footsteps of our initial bond success because we have individuals who would like to invest in the hotel and missed the opportunity in our first offering,” said Kevin Walker of Walker Hospitality, and owner of Oak Bay Beach Hotel. “We have been overwhelmed with the support from the community on this project and it is continuing today.”

Ground was broken last month on what many call one of Victoria’s most anticipated development projects the Oak Bay Beach Hotel. The 100-room hotel with private residences and spa is scheduled to open in 2011 and will be rebuilt on the same oceanfront lot on Beach Drive in Oak Bay where it stood for 80 years.

The bond offering allows individuals to invest a minimum of $150, 000 in an interest bearing first mortgage secured bond at a return rate of seven per cent. The first release was completely subscribed after less than four months and surpassed the original targeted amount by raising more than $30 million. The second offering could reduce, or even eliminate, the hotel’s dependence on traditional financing.

“Despite the challenging economic times we have seen a huge response to the project,” said Walker. “We continue to have calls from people all over North America who want to be part of the hotel development, many of whom had a special connection to the hotel in the past.”

The hotel and spa which includes 20 residences will be built to target LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Gold certification and will participate in Canada’s Green Key Eco-Rating Program. The sustainable features include geo-thermal heating and cooling and a waste water treatment system. In addition, more than 95 per cent of the materials from the original hotel were either recycled or will be used in the rebuild, including bricks, windows, beams and furniture. Walker Hospitality is targeting a five-star rating for the hotel, which, when achieved, would make it the only full-service five-star hotel with private residences on Vancouver Island.

“We are excited to be part of this project to rebuild such a special hotel that many of us have great memories of,” said Mark Asser, bond offering participant and future resident. “We look forward to seeing the hotel take shape over the next two years.”

Many of the features from the former Oak Bay Beach Hotel will be recreated in the new building including the Snug Pub and the dinner theatre program, which ran for seven years in the original hotel and helped launch many local artists.

“Recreating the hotel gives us the opportunity to combine the charm from the past with the amenities, sophistication, and upscale interior design available to us today,” said Walker.

For more information about the bond offering, please contact Walker Hospitality at: 250-598-4556.

About the Oak Bay Beach Hotel:

Viewed in the past as the historic icon of Oak Bay, the new Oak Bay Beach Hotel will be completely rebuilt on the same spectacular oceanfront lot, and will reopen as a 100-room hotel with 20 luxury residences in 2011.

Hotel and residential amenities will include a seaside therapeutic mineral pool, a fitness centre, spa, dinner theatre program, and a fine-dining restaurant. And recreated due to popular demand will be the Snug Pub, a local icon all to its own.

The new Oak Bay Beach Hotel will be a prestigious address and is designed to continue to be the showpiece of the neighbourhood. Not only is this Victoria’s first combination full-service luxury hotel and private residence, it is also the only commercial waterfront development in Oak Bay and is targeting LEED Gold certification. As they have for the past 37 years, Walker Hospitality will continue to manage the development and the operations of the new Oak Bay Beach Hotel when it re-opens in 2011.

www.oakbaybeachhotel.com

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Media Contacts:
The Tartan Group
Trisha Lees, 250-592-3838, cell 250-896-3838, or trisha@tartangroup.ca
Christine Gleed, 250-592-3838, cell 250-896-3844, or christine@tartangroup.ca


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