Proposed resort development near Consecon to bring 134 hotel units

By Sharon Harrison
Thirty-two hotel buildings and six multi-unit villas (for a total of 38 accommodation buildings) are proposed to bring about 134 bedrooms to a new commercial resort development on a 57-hectare property bordering a length of Loyalist Parkway, near Consecon,

Along with the accommodation villas, the proposed development, Redtail East Hotel and Nordic Spa, is to include an estate winery, wine production facility and wine tasting room, a fine-dining restaurant (open to the public), hotel reception and lobby, retail and venue space, staff and meeting rooms, maintenance buildings and two parking lots (309 parking spaces).

The resort proposal also comes with outdoor recreation amenities and facilities, such as tennis courts, basketball courts and swimming pools, plus spa buildings and facilities in the form of a year-round Nordic spa (open to the public) to include saunas, warm pools, cold plunge pools, a whirlpool and steam room.

At Wednesday’s planning and development statutory committee meeting, council heard details of applications submitted by Blocknote Canada Inc. (operating as Redtail Winery) for a draft plan of condominium, site plan control and zoning bylaw amendment to remove a holding provision for the property located at 19538 Loyalist Parkway in Hillier ward.

Under a new two-step process (effective Jan. 1), no decision on this planning application will be made by council at this first statutory overview meeting (as has been procedure) which is intended as information-gathering only. Decision by council will happen at a future second statutory public meeting where staff will provide a report and recommendation.

“The purpose and effect of the application is to create a vacant land condominium which separate the various legal entities that comprise the Blocknote Canada Inc. development and tie them to common elements, such as the road and the shared amenities,” stated Matt Coffey, the County’s planning approvals co-ordinator in his report to council. “Concurrently, applications for site plan control and a zoning bylaw amendment to remove a holding provision are under review.”

Agent for Redtail Winery, Adam Layton with Goldberg Group, gave a presentation where he briefly outlined the background of the application which has been in process since 2019, where he explained what a draft plan of condominium means in this case, indicating how this application essentially seeks to lift the holding conditions applicable to the property.

Layton noted that an official plan amendment and re-zoning bylaw amendment had been submitted previously (approved in 2023) to permit re-development of the lands for an estate winery, hotel and a Nordic spa, with a site plan application submitted subsequently (and still pending).

He explained that one of the key issues identified was finding an appropriate and sufficiently-productive well on the site to provide water for the contemplated uses, the genesis of the hold provisions, he said.

“That did result in finding several very good wells on the property allowing us to make an application to the ministry in 2024 which resulted in the issuance of a permit to take water, and we were able to advance the site plan application,” Layton explained.

He said nothing much has changed since the last update of the application, details of which can be found here:

First phase of Redtail Winery development gets go ahead

“This looks to be an incredible opportunity for agri-tourism in Hillier in Prince Edward County,” added councillor Chris Braney.

Layton clarified what was meant by a draft plan of condominium in this case, indicating how it does not mean a high-density apartment building, for example.

“Condominium just denotes a tenure, rather than the use, and we are simply implementing a draft plan of condominium as a legal convenience.”

He explained that the various business operations on the site, the vineyard, the restaurant, the winery, the hotel, the spa, would all be owned and operated by different companies who would operate under separate ownership with common areas to be shared among these uses.

“The formation of a condominium corporation allows the actual lands that they are occupying, and operating out of, to be unitized while also maintaining the balance of the property and the common elements, in a common ownership with common maintenance.”

He explained that the common elements include things like any shared utilities, lighting, signage, driveways, landscaping, parking, stormwater management field and septic system, among them.

Layton also noted that while the hotel operator and winery are both existing and up and running with 30 acres of active vineyards, they don’t yet have an operator for the spa.

Addressing the lack of water on the site previously has now been resolved after a year, allowing the hold provision to be lifted.

“We weren’t sure how much water we would find, but we found wells sufficient to provide water for the entire development. We have identified one well that satisfied all the requirements at 64,000 litres per day, and we have two back-up wells.”

It was noted that 64,000 litres is the maximum usage per day and is what was tested and permitted. “64,000 is the limit the permit will allow to take water from all sources.”

“The previous council approved a good amount of Redtail under the guidelines that they met the water requirements, and there is no doubt the water requirements have been met,” said Braney.

Two local residents spoke at the meeting, one raising a concern about an element of the traffic study, the other had questions about the hydrogeological study, the ecological study and lighting.

John Hicks, who identified as living with 500 metres of the proposed development, spoke to the many animals found in the area (coyote, deer, fox) where he asked if they would be able to continue to roam between properties. With no fencing along Loyalist Parkway, he said there is a free flow of coyotes and deer across the highway and if it was fenced, it would be a barrier to the animals.

Layton confirmed that no fencing is proposed along County Road 33, except around the tennis court and pool. “The free flow would be allowed to continue, and we would want to encourage it.”

Hicks also raised the issue of lighting, highlighting the Bortle scale (it measures the night sky’s brightness in a particular location) and the value of dark skies in the County, especially for stargazers.

“The tennis courts has 24 lights, 375 watts each, and it just sounds tremendously light,” expressed Hicks, where Layton confirmed lighting plans will be subject to site plan agreement, where he said all exterior lighting would be dark sky compliant.

The property is currently zoned special tourist commercial (TC-59-H) holding zone, rural 2 (RU2) and environmental protection (EP). The zoning application seeks to re-zone the TC-59-H zone to remove the holding provision (implemented due to suitable water quantity and quality requirements). All environmental protection zones will remain.

The development of the multi-unit villas (to be modular in design and vary in shape and size) is expected to be constructed in phases, with the first phase to consist of approximately 74 hotel units, with the total development contemplated for phase two to be 134 hotel suites. The development will also include the construction of new roads, pathways, stormwater management facilities and other supporting infrastructure.

The rural property is undeveloped and primarily comprises of a mixture of agricultural fields and woodlands, unevaluated wetlands and an unnamed watercourse. It is noted that of the approximately 57-hectare property, site coverage of the proposed development is expected to extend to 43 hectares (of the 57 hectares).

Loyalist Parkway/County Road 33 runs along the west side of the property, and the north of the property is at the T-intersection of Partridge Hollow Road and Loyalist Parkway, and the south of the property is at the T-intersection of County Road 27 and Loyalist Parkway. Access to the property will be on Loyalist Parkway (approximately 200 metres south of Partridge Hollow Road), where there is an existing gravel driveway.

Planning documents related to this application can be found on the County’s website.