Nakoda Lodge gets money to expand

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A $2.7-million expansion project will begin this spring at Nakoda Lodge, a conference and cultural meeting center on the Good Stoney reserve near Morley, west of Calgary.

Expansion includes a development of a 50-unit motel, as well as a proposed swimming pool, exercise room, steam room, whirlpool and sauna.

"We're still in the planning stage and we will have to study the feasibility of some of the facilities like a swimming pool," says lodge manager Ian Getty.

Funding for the facility comes jointly from the 900-member band and from a $1.7-million grant from Native Economic Development Program (NEDP). The million dollars from the band is equally divided between band funding and a half million dollar loan.

The grant is part of $6.2-million from Indian Affairs and Northern Development to 11 Alberta Native owned business ventured and economic development programs.

The Nakoda Lodge expansion is expected to create 25 full-time jobs, explained Getty.

"Right now, we are training waitresses on the weekend. We will also need maintenance, security and desk clerks."

Getty said the expansion, planned for years, should increase business at the lodge.

"Over the years we have lost potential business because we didn't have accommodation at the lodge," he explained. "But with a motel on site we should attract more conferences and meetings."

The motel, to be built directly north overlooking Hector Lake, will accommodate visitors and tourists.

The lodge will generate an estimated $3-million in wages and other benefits to the economy of the surrounding area over a five-year period.