New resort and spa planned for Woodleigh castles site in Burlington, P.E.I.
CBC
The new owners of the former Woodleigh Replicas property in Burlington, P.E.I., have some big plans for a high-end resort and spa.
The 2.79-acre property, which includes two stone-and-mortar castles and other replicas of landmarks, went up for sale early this year.
Ken Dunn said he bought the property for $275,000.
And he said redevelopment plans for Woodleigh Castles Resort and Spa will be budgeted at the $50-million to $60-million range.
"We're going to turn it into about a 37-room hotel throughout the castles, as well as a wedding venue, another 70-room hotel, a big beautiful restaurant and a full thermal Nordic spa," he said.
Dunn was an officer with the Charlottetown Police Service in the 1990s, but he moved on to buying cottage properties and running other businesses.
He now lives in Whitby, Ont., and owns Cottage Dream Vacations, which he describes as a real estate development company that specializes in refurbishing old cottage resorts across Canada.
Woodleigh Replicas was once a popular tourist destination built in the 1950s by World War I veteran Ernest Johnstone. It closed in 2008 and has been up for sale a few times since then.
Woodleigh featured replicas of buildings such as St. Paul's Cathedral, Shakespeare's birthplace, the Tower of London and Dunvegan Castle.
"My wife and I happened across this property in our early 20s, just on weekends when we were out and about," Dunn said.
"Unfortunately over the years the castle has fallen into disrepair and you know it takes a lot to keep a place like this in good stead. What we saw right away was the opportunity to completely refurbish the castles."
Dunn said they're going over their plans with structural engineers and Coles Architects in P.E.I.
"This first phase is where we're going to determine exactly what we can do. That's probably going to take about six or eight months," he said. "If people are driving by and just looking to get a glimpse of what's happening, they should expect to see some big equipment around the end of this year."
Dunn said they have also hired spa architect Jennifer MacInnis, who is from Prince Edward Island.
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