The Nova group has begun building a 75-room hotel opposite the existing Chateau Nova, on the edge of downtown Yellowknife, after receiving planning permission.
It’s at least the fourth hotel or similar facility to be given the green light by city planners in the past 12 months.
The city approved the planned Nova Apartments Hotel on September 1. The last date to appeal that decision is Tuesday, September 15. (An earlier decision allowed some site preparation to go ahead. Work on the structure was well under way as of Saturday.)
Approval for the Nova Apartments Hotel comes during an accommodation crunch. Housing is likely to be a central topic in the city’s municipal election next month and the hotel sector reflects that broader issue. As anyone who’s tried visiting (or hosting guests) lately can attest, finding a room in Yellowknife is not easy.
Plans submitted to the city by Nova show a four-storey building with 43 parking spaces and rack room for 28 bikes.
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The new building stretches along the highway that leads into Yellowknife, at an angle to the Chateau Nova – now more than 10 years old – and its parking lot.
The Chateau Nova has just over 200 rooms, including a more recent extension. A second building, completed in 2024, sits at the northwestern end of the lot and holds 54 more extended-stay rooms. Planning documents describe this third building as the final phase of the entire Nova development.
Elsewhere in the city, a new 75-room medical travel lodge was approved last October. Since then, the city has also green-lit a 150-room hotel next to the existing Explorer Hotel and a 90-room facility on Old Airport Road.
Earlier this month, the NWT government said accommodation in Yellowknife was at such a premium that some people travelling to the city for routine dental work may be asked to rebook for a later date.
