It isn’t yes and it isn’t no.
In the wake of a flurry of news this week that the Great Wolf Lodge resort was in talks to open a new resort in Surrey, Squamish locals have taken to social media to speculate on what this means for the district.
According to the company, the preliminary talk with officials in Surrey doesn’t necessarily mean the massive waterpark-themed hotel resort geared at families is not coming to Squamish.
“We’re always looking for opportunities to expand our category-leading brand of family-friendly indoor waterparks to new audiences,” Jason Lasecki, director of communications for the lodge, told The Chief. “At this point it is premature to speculate on where we may look for future development opportunities outside of the three new resorts we have announced – Great Wolf Lodge Minnesota, Great Wolf Lodge Georgia and Great Wolf Lodge Illinois.”
In November of 2015, it was revealed that the Jim Pattison Group had purchased a two-acre portion of a parcel on an Aspen Road property in Squamish with plans to build a hotel. The B.C. company operates a Great Wolf Lodge in Niagara Falls, Ont., the only location in Canada.
At the time, the company needed to acquire additional land from the province and District of Squamish in order to have room for the resort.
In Dec. 2015, Squamish council passed a motion to enter into talks with officials from the proposed $150-million resort and to support Great Wolf Lodge in its negotiations with the province.
Mayor Patricia Heintzman told The Chief on Monday that she hasn’t heard from the resort’s representatives for around a year. The last she heard they were in negotiations over the Crown land, which would involve several steps including consultation with the Squamish Nation.
“Land is going to be the big issue wherever they go,” she said. “Accumulating 12 to 15 acres of land in Squamish is difficult for something like that.”
The Great Wolf Lodge proposal includes restaurants and a 100,000-square-foot waterpark that would employ about 670 people, including 50 for manager-level positions.
According to its website, a standard room at the lodge runs about $370 per room, per night.
