Canmore gondola project in review under Alberta's resort development legislation
CBC
A potential sightseeing gondola overlooking Canmore is returning for a new stage of engagement under Alberta's All-Season Resorts Act.
Stone Creek Resorts and the provincial government have released initial steps for the Silvertip gondola project. Feedback is being accepted until May 14 and an open house at Silvertip Resort will take place April 7 from 3 to 8 p.m.
The project would have three gondola stations, viewing platforms on Mount Lady Macdonald and a day lodge.
Attempts to reach Guy Turcotte, president and CEO of Stone Creek Resorts, for an interview weren’t successful.
In an emailed statement, Stone Creek Resorts said preliminary economic analysis anticipates the project will generate $40 million in tourism revenue for the federal and provincial governments.
“Tourism in this region exists because of the area’s natural environment and the project aims to demonstrate that the project can co-exist with that landscape while contributing to Alberta’s year-round global tourism economy,” the statement reads.
The existing phase is to determine whether provincial park land should be designated for resort use.
Katie Morrison, executive director of Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society Southern Alberta, said the All-Season Resorts Act should raise concerns of sacrificing conservation for tourism.
“This act is being used as a way for commercial interest to subvert existing land use plans and the Provincial Parks Act for the benefit of private development,” she said.
The project's footprint would be about 15 hectares and the majority would be in Bow Valley Wildland Provincial Park.
It’s meant to complement the Silvertip development plan, which allows up to 1,290 resort accommodations, no more than 750 residential units and up to 850 employee housing units.
In 2017, a proposed $1 billion project pitched a 200,000- to 300,000-square-foot conference centre and casino, a 1,300-room hotel, gondola and tea house on Mount Lady Macdonald.
The Stone Creek Resorts statement said its plan will create jobs, add tax revenue and "gondola visits will help generate longer-term tourism revenue across Alberta."
The All-Season Resorts Act has streamlined potential approvals for year-round resorts.
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