SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - The long unfulfilled, and sometimes controversial plan to build a hotel on top Twin Pine Hill is taking a step in a different direction.

View larger picture The coloured-in land in the Lower Bench Area of Twin Pines Hill is the proposed new location for a hotel. The hilltop area is now being proposed for future "commercial and institutional" development. - graphic courtesy of the City of Yellowknife

Yellowknives Dene-owned consortium Deton'Cho Development Corporation and its partner NewNorth Projects Ltd. are hoping to build a hotel on a new 12,748 square-metre parcel of land further down the hill in an area facing Franklin Avenue, and behind beside an existing hotel.

The chunk of land is referred to as the Lower Bench Area. It's adjacent to the Arnica Inn, a portion of which occupies a lot that was once home to Two Way Enterprises. The land was purchased from the city for an undisclosed amount in 2007 by Yellowknife River Resorts, which Deton'Cho bought out a year later. Some $657,000 is still owed to the city for this land, according to city documents.

Seven years ago Yellowknife River Resorts had plans for a $25-million conference centre and hotel atop of Twin Pine Hill. Some residents were aghast that such a unique promontory could be lost to development. There was also questions about the secrecy of the sale, of which its dollar amount has never been disclosed. Proponents, on the other hand, argued the deal was a good use of land whose only occupants presently are homeless squatters in summer.

But now the hilltop hotel is heading down the slope where it's less steep and more easily accessible to Franklin Avenue. In its place on top of the hill, the development partners are proposing some "commercial and institutional" buildings after some tweaking of the property lines, and making a bid for some territorial and federal government property to build a road to Franklin Avenue.

It's unclear what any of these facilities will ultimately look like, but it seems certain that actual development is still a ways off yet.

"I think what's happening now is that we are working with the city on some conceptual ideas of what we'd like to build on (the Lower Bench Area)," said Greg Herndier, president of NewNorth Projects.

"If we get (development) approvals, the next step would be to ascertain the financial viability. (This project) will not happen this year. That would be great if it did, but chances are it would be a next-year project."

City council voted unanimously on Jan. 25 to direct administration to come up with a plan to reconfigure land parcels at the original hotel site in order to make the construction of a road there to Franklin Avenue cheaper and easier to do.

The city is also still seeking $250,000 to build trails on Twin Pine as part of the original agreement between the city and Yellowknife River Resorts.

Herndier said while there is development plans for both the hilltop area and the lower bench, but nothing is written in stone.

"Basically what we're looking at is what type of project we can put on the Lower Bench Area. A hotel would be our preference," said Herndier.

"I think the developer is showing creativity, understanding of the site, and some good sense," said city councillor Paul Falvo, who added he'd had concerns about development in the area in the past.

"If you are arriving in the city by boat or floatplane on Yellowknife Bay, it's part of the gateway to the city, so it's very important what goes on there," said Falvo.