Hotel resort complex approved for Hillier winery

By Sharon Harrison
Redtail East Hotel and Nordic Spa received approval from councillors for a proposed year-round commercial resort complex on a 57-hectare property located at 19538 Loyalist Parkway in Hillier.

The approval of an application for draft plan of (vacant land) condominium for Blocknote Canada Inc. (operating as Redtail Winery) came at Wednesday’s planning and development committee meeting. The decision moves to council for final approval.

Agent for the applicant, Adam Layton with the Goldberg Group, joined the meeting virtually where he gave a brief presentation. However, there was little discussion around the horseshoe and no comments, which saw the application go straight to a vote.

The proposal will bring accommodations in the form of 134 (the zoning allows up to 148 units) bedrooms within resort villas with 32 hotel buildings and six multi-unit villas. It will also provide 309 parking spaces within two parking areas.

The resort is expected to have a restaurant, winery, vineyard (existing and future) and production facility, swimming pools and change room, sports courts (basketball and tennis) and spa buildings (sauna, warm pools, cold plunge pools, a whirlpool and steam room), plus staff accommodation. Layton did indicate that they are still seeking an operator for the Nordic spa.

This item was initially scheduled for Jan. 21, but postponed until Jan. 28 due to inclement weather, with that meeting also postponed for the same reason. When the re-scheduled item come before the planning committee on Feb. 4, the applicant requested a deferral indicating more time was needed to review the conditions of approval.

Under a two-step process, details of the proposed planning application came before council at a first statutory (overview) meeting held April 16, 2025 intended as information-gathering only. See that meeting here:

https://www.countylive.ca/proposed-resort-development-near-consecon-to-bring-134-hotel-units/.

The statutory public meeting Wednesday, the second part of the two-step process, came with a report and recommendation for approval by the planning department for council’s discussion and decision.

The application seeks to establish five separate units within the property to facilitate separate ownership of a resort, spa, vineyard, restaurant and production facility to be developed within the property, states the planning report. The various five business operations that will make up the site would each be owned and operated by different companies, who would operate under separate ownership with common areas (parking areas, driveway and services) to be shared among these uses.

Bordering the Loyalist Parkway (County Road 33) near Consecon, the property is zoned as Tourist Commercial Exception 38 Holding 1 (TC-38-H1), Tourist Commercial Exception 38 Holding 2 (TC-38-H2), Agricultural (AG) and Environmental Protection (EP).

Planning documentation relating to this application can be found on the County’s website.