We Wai Kai Nation’s 102-room hotel at Quinsam Crossing is now moving into construction, with an opening targeted for spring 2028
After years of planning, delays and a changing economic landscape, a long-awaited hotel project at Quinsam Crossing has finally reached a major milestone.
The Four Points by Sheraton Campbell River has officially broken ground, clearing the way for construction of a 102-room hotel that is expected to open in spring 2028.
The project is being developed and owned by We Wai Kai Nation at 200 Brant Drive, with Hotel Equities providing development services and expected to operate the property once it opens under Marriott International’s Four Points by Sheraton brand.
For Campbell River, the groundbreaking represents more than the arrival of another hotel.
It marks the latest step in the continuing development of Quinsam Crossing, an ambitious commercial area on We Wai Kai Nation lands that is increasingly becoming a gateway to Campbell River and a significant economic-development hub for the North Island.
A project six years in the making
The hotel has been a long time coming.
Hotel Equities first announced plans for the Four Points by Sheraton in March 2020. At the time, construction was expected to begin in the third quarter of that year.
The original announcement described the project as a new-build hotel owned and developed by We Wai Kai Nation, with Hotel Equities providing development services and taking responsibility for hotel operations once the property opened.
Then the world changed.
The announcement came just as the COVID-19 pandemic was beginning to disrupt travel, tourism, construction and investment across Canada.
The planned 2020 construction start did not happen.
Instead, the Four Points project remained in development for years before finally reaching the groundbreaking stage in July 2026.
The delay means the project has taken approximately six years to progress from its original public announcement to construction.
Now, however, the project has moved from planning to reality.
A 102-room hotel at Quinsam Crossing
The new hotel will be located at 200 Brant Drive, within the larger Quinsam Crossing development.
The 102-room property will carry the Four Points by Sheraton name, one of Marriott International’s hotel brands.
Hotel Equities will operate the hotel after completion, while We Wai Kai Nation will remain the owner and developer.
The development team includes Hotel Equities, Marriott International, Urban Design Group Architects and Ketza Pacific Contracting.
The construction involvement of local and regional companies could also mean that the economic impact begins well before the first guest checks into the hotel.
The project is expected to generate construction employment before creating ongoing positions once the hotel opens.
For We Wai Kai Nation, however, the longer-term objective goes beyond employment.
The Nation describes the hotel as an investment in its future and another component of its broader economic-development strategy.
Building economic independence
We Wai Kai Nation has been developing its economic interests on and around its Campbell River-area lands for years.
The Nation’s Quinsam Reserve is home to the Quinsam Crossing Economic Development Area, which includes existing commercial businesses and additional development planned for the future.
We Wai Kai describes Quinsam Crossing as a 60-acre gateway location adjacent to the Inland Island Highway and only minutes from downtown Campbell River and the Campbell River Airport.
The broader development is envisioned as a destination containing commercial and retail services, restaurants, community and recreational amenities and a hotel.
That makes the Four Points project particularly important.
It isn’t being built on an isolated parcel of land.
It is part of a larger strategy to turn Quinsam Crossing into a commercial destination serving Campbell River and the wider North Island.
The Nation says the development is intended to create opportunities for retail while becoming a highway gateway to the community.
The hotel fits directly into that vision.
A different kind of hotel project
There is also a significant Indigenous economic-development component to the project.
We Wai Kai Nation is not simply providing land for an outside hotel company.
The Nation owns and is developing the hotel, while bringing in experienced partners to handle the hospitality side of the business.
That distinction is important.
Once operating, the hotel is intended to provide an ongoing commercial revenue stream for the Nation while creating employment opportunities for its members.
Jason Wilson, We Wai Kai Nation’s director of economic development, described the groundbreaking as a milestone for everyone who had worked on the project.
He said the hotel represents an investment in the Nation’s future, with opportunities for economic growth, employment and long-term prosperity for members.
Chief Ronnie Chickite similarly described the development as an economic-development initiative intended to benefit both the Nation and the broader Campbell River and North Island communities.
The groundbreaking included a traditional ceremony
The official groundbreaking also reflected the cultural importance of the project.
The ceremony included a traditional Kwakwaka’wakw eagle down blessing ceremony, known as K’amk’amxwaliła.
Campbell River Mayor Kermit Dahl attended the event, along with Hereditary We Wai Kai Chief Yakawidi, also known as Shawn Decaire.
The cultural ceremony placed the construction milestone within the broader history and identity of We Wai Kai Nation.
For a project intended to generate economic benefits for generations to come, the ceremony also provided an opportunity to connect the new development with the Nation’s cultural traditions.
Campbell River’s hotel supply
The developers are also betting on continued demand for accommodation in Campbell River.
Hotel Equities senior vice-president Ryan McRae said Vancouver Island tourism demand has outpaced hotel supply for years, describing Campbell River as a clear example of the gap.
Marriott likewise identified the area’s outdoor recreation and marine tourism as important sources of visitor demand.
Campbell River occupies a strategic position on the east coast of Vancouver Island.
The city serves as a base for visitors travelling for fishing, boating, wildlife viewing and other outdoor activities, while also serving business and industrial traffic moving through the region.
Its position on Discovery Passage gives the community a particularly strong connection to marine tourism.
Adding 102 branded hotel rooms could therefore provide additional capacity during periods when accommodation demand is high.
It may also make Campbell River more attractive to visitors who prefer nationally recognized hotel brands when planning trips.
A changing Campbell River
The Four Points project is arriving at a time when Campbell River itself is changing.
New residential, commercial and infrastructure projects are reshaping portions of the community, while development continues both within the city and on neighbouring First Nations lands.
Quinsam Crossing is an important part of that growth.
The City of Campbell River recently approved a major sewer project intended in part to increase capacity and support future growth on We Wai Kai Nation lands, along Quinsam Road and throughout Campbellton. The project has a total budget of approximately $5.1 million.
That infrastructure investment illustrates the interconnected nature of development in the area.
As commercial and residential activity expands, supporting infrastructure becomes increasingly important.
The hotel is therefore arriving alongside a broader pattern of growth rather than as a standalone investment.
What’s next for the site?
With groundbreaking complete, attention now turns to construction.
The current target is an opening in spring 2028.
The project is expected to provide construction employment during the building phase and hospitality jobs after opening.
Hotel Equities will bring its hotel-management infrastructure to the project, including expertise in operations, revenue management, sales, food and beverage and talent development. The company currently operates hotels across several Canadian provinces.
For Marriott, the Campbell River property will add another Four Points location to its Canadian portfolio.
For We Wai Kai Nation, the implications are potentially much larger.
The hotel becomes another operating business within a broader portfolio of economic-development initiatives.
Part of a much bigger picture
The most important thing to understand about the Four Points project may be that the hotel isn’t the whole story.
Quinsam Crossing is being developed as a larger commercial destination.
We Wai Kai Nation’s plans call for a mix of commercial and retail services, restaurants and other amenities, with the development positioned to serve residents, travellers and businesses throughout the region.
Federal records have also described ongoing and planned development on the Quinsam Reserve, while the Nation has continued investing in infrastructure and amenities that support the area’s growth.
As additional pieces are completed, the character of the area around the Inland Island Highway could change significantly.
A hotel brings visitors.
Visitors create demand for restaurants, retail, transportation, recreation and other services.
And those businesses, in turn, can help make the commercial development more viable.
That is the economic-development model behind much of the investment taking place at Quinsam Crossing.
From a plan on paper to a construction site
Perhaps the most notable part of the Four Points announcement is simply that the project has finally reached this point.
When the hotel was first announced in 2020, construction was supposed to begin within months.
Six years later, the ceremonial groundbreaking has taken place.
There is still considerable work ahead before the first guests arrive, but the project has crossed the line that matters most in any major development: construction has begun.
If the current schedule holds, Campbell River will welcome the Four Points by Sheraton in spring 2028.
By then, the hotel will be joining a community that has continued to evolve during the six years since the project was first announced.
And for We Wai Kai Nation, the new building will represent more than 102 guest rooms.
It will be another piece of a long-term strategy to build economic capacity, create employment and establish lasting sources of revenue for future generations.
For Campbell River and the North Island, it will mean something more immediate: 102 additional hotel rooms, a new internationally recognized hotel brand and another major piece of the growing Quinsam Crossing commercial district.
After six years of waiting, the project is finally moving. Construction is underway.
