A developer in Merritt wants to build a hotel and casino, and up to 450 housing units near the former rest stop property just off the Coquihalla Highway.

Merritt mayor Linda Brown explains the five Indigenous bands in the Nicola Valley will already be redeveloping the former rest stop site.

She says council will decide tonight whether to advance plans to a public hearing for this new development, which would be called Palomino Pointe Estates.

“It’s a little ways out of town. This has been talked about for 20-plus years. Now that we have the First Nations development up at Exit 286, we have the potential for putting the water and sewer lines up to that site… that’s why it’s happening at this time,” Brown tells NL News.

The new hotel, casino and housing project would add between 1,500 and 2,000 residents to Merritt, according to a development plan sent to the city by a consultant.

The development would cover 64.5 acres of land at 3230 Hamilton Hill Road, with housing and commercial space built on 46 acres. The housing would include single-family home, townhouses and apartment units.

Another 18.5 acres is proposed to be left as open space, which would be 29 per cent of the property. Brown explain the minimum is five per cent, but says part of this land goes through the Godey Creek Trail which the city wants to be preserved.

“There is a trailhead that goes from the visitors information site right up to the top of the mountain, and it kind of goes through this property. So we’re hoping to maintain that while they build.”