Whitewater Expansion plans
So how with this affect our beloved resort, the backcountry and the cost of Yam fries at the lodge?
Like it or hate it?
http://www.nelsondailynews.com.....3/0/NELSON
NOVEMBER 27,2009
TIMOTHY SCHAFER, DAILY NEWS REPORTER
New snow on the mountains of Whitewater Winter Resort isn’t the only thing that is generating excitement in Nelson right now.
Plans are being unveiled for a $90-million expansion to the winter resort 15 kilometres south of the city that would see skier visits increase by 30 per cent over the next 10 years to 120,000 per year.
It is a controlled growth plan for the “hometown” ski hill, Whitewater general manager Brian Cusak told the Regional District of Central Kootenay board of directors Thursday morning in Nelson.
Cusack appeared before the board as part of the public disclosure component required for the development by the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and the Arts, alerting the RDCK as to what their responsibilities could be in the expansion.
As well, it was confirmation of the Calgary-based new owners’ intentions for the hill, a necessary progression to keep the small-scale, big snow resort viable, Cusack explained.
“We’re not talking about a huge increase of skiers… we’re talking about a 30 per cent increase to make it viable up there, something we have to do,” he said.
With a ski lodge over 33 years old, lifts between three and 15 years old, it was obvious there was a major capital investment required for the ski hill to continue, Cusack said.
When Dean Prodan, Mitch Putnam and Andrew Kyle bought the hill from Mike and Shelley Adams over one year ago they realized Whitewater was one of the most profitable smaller ski areas in B.C., possessing the most consistent snow.
Although they did not want to disrupt the community feeling towards Whitewater, they felt the ski hill had to go to the next level to become viable and expansion, with a sale of real estate for capital investment, was the answer.
In all, there will be $10 to $15 million worth of infrastructure improvements made, including the possibility of geothermal heat, with $50 to $75 million worth of real estate created up at the base of the mountain over the next 10 years.
In the base area there would be a core set of buildings created, with a commercial building housing a ski shop, rental shop and the ski school.
There will be a small hotel with a bar and restaurant and a hostel — 50 units between the hotel and hostel — that may include some condominium units. There would also be 123 multi-family and single-family units phased in around the bowl.
This would put 694 beds on the mountain, Cusack said.
“In the scope of things this is quite a small project,” he said, comparing Whitewater to Kelowna’s Big White expansion of 7,000 beds and Sun Peaks’ 17,000-bed expansion north of Kamloops.
Because there were only nine hectares of usable land available for building, the initial figure of 200 housing units at Whitewater had to be downscaled to 123 housing units.
The role for the RDCK will be very small, with building code compliance and waste management being the two major contributions. When asked by Area B director John Kettle if the development would encounter resistance similar to the Jumbo Glacier effort in the East Kootenay, Cusack felt the two projects were not in the same category.
He said the ski area of Whitewater is well established and the areas to be developed are already heavily used by skiers.
“We don’t see us invading pristine wilderness,” he said. “Everything we do up there… (the Ministry of Tourism) has to know about it and they have the first right of refusal on all of the infrastructure related to the ski hill operation.”
In addition, if the current owners have to bail on the project due to deteriorating market conditions, the Ministry assumes control of the hill. Cusack said the target market will be expanded in Washington and Alberta to account for the expected rise in skiers.
There is quite a bit of economic spin off for Nelson, said Cusack, with the current winter workforce growing from 165 people to up to 300 within 10 years. Part of their ongoing commitment to the Nelson area is they will be using local contractors, architects and engineers for the job, he added.
Most of the review process is complete, Cusack said, with the buying and installing of the first ski lift slated for the summer of 2011, and the installing of sewer and water infrastructure in summer of 2011.
A public viewing of the plan will happen in Nelson in December and by Christmas a new amended master plan should be in place.
Increasing the Footprint
Whitewater Ski Resort is a certified recreation area (CRA) registered under the Ministry of Tourism situated on Crown land, and encompasses 3,200 acres (1,450 hectares) with its 60-year lease having been renewed in 2007.
The expansion plan calls for the utilization of the entire CRA — 1,400 hectares of skiing in all — with the installation of five major lifts and one small lift, upgrading one of the current lifts, allowing skier capacity to grow from 1,500 skiers per day up to 2,500.
Overall, with an expanded season of one month to a total of five, the annual skier visits could grow from the 85,000 Whitewater saw last season to 120,000 within 10 years.
The footprint will increase from 500 hectares of skiing right now, to adding 800 hectares of gladed runs — “undescribed” runs — and wide open, downhill ski runs, much already in use.
Once construction begins the resort will establish a fire department, and waste management planning will have to be worked out with the RDCK, said Cusack.
Because of the short building window in the resort, a lot of the housing will have to be pre-fabricated in Nelson and then assembled on site — helping reduce waste in the area.
Some summer activity could be generated at Whitewater for mountain biking and hiking on mountain trails.
— Timothy Schafer
