Two articles from last summer on the $350 million Wasaga development.
From ice cream and french fries to condos and bistros
JAMES RUSK
Globe and Mail
August 16, 2007 at 3:38 AM EDT
Two brothers who started out with an ice cream parlour in Wasaga Beach 17 years ago are poised to radically transform the popular resort community with a $350-million development.
Dov and Armand Levy's plan includes seven hotels, several condos, retail shops and services, 10 themed restaurants, a variety of upscale bistros, a conference facility, a full service spa, and an indoor amusement park that would offer skiing and snowboarding year round.
A monorail will connect the 10-hectare (25-acre) project, to be built by Blue Beach Avenue Corp., with parking on the perimeter.
"It was almost like Disney has decided to move to Wasaga Beach, and who would say no to that?" asked Trudie McCrea, manager of the Wasaga Beach Chamber of Commerce who attended the unveiling of the plan on Monday night.
But in a move that would end one of Wasaga's venerated traditions, cruising the Strip, Beach Drive would be closed to traffic and made into a pedestrian board walk.
"I've got [Mr. Levy's] plan in front of me right here, and there's no driving on the Strip. It's all walkway," Mayor Cal Patterson said.
Dov Levy said "the idea is to make Wasaga Beach an all-year destination. So much of the improved area, which is the waterfront and the boardwalk, will consist of snow and winter activities, ice-skating, snowmobiles and so on."
In the past few months, he said he and his brother, who already own a number of properties in town, have been able to secure most of the waterfront locations and have already started to tear down some older buildings. They hope to have the entire project completed within five years.
"I'm nervously excited about it, because it is a huge, huge development," Mr. Patterson said. "It's a major change to the community, but for the most part where they are developing is already developed. It is just old."
The mayor noted that, for instance, the developers have purchased a rundown old mall area that will be gutted and turned into a New Orleans-themed retail area.
He said the Levys have lined up investors to fund the project, and that town officials have met with them.
For Wasaga Beach, which already draws more than two million visitors a year, the development provides an opportunity to shift from a primarily summer resort to a year-round destination, only 25 minutes from the ski hills in nearby Collingwood, Mr. Patterson said.
He noted that the plan calls for the developers to acquire 23 properties from the town, most of them parking lots, but including a 3.8 hectare (9.5-acre) waterfront block with 213 metres (700 feet) of frontage on Wasaga's 14 kilometres of sand.
The mayor said the most controversial aspect of the project is likely to be the sale of the waterfront block, even though it has been on the market for the past 10 years.
He said the town has had all the properties appraised in anticipation of the project, but no negotiations have yet been held with the developers.
The mayor said minor rezoning would be needed for the project. Council would only have to approve the sale of the land and the minor rezoning, he said.
For Rick Seip of the vintage motor car club, Wasaga Beach Cruisers - members of which, he said, would have been up in arms 20 years ago at the prospect of closing Beach Drive to cars - the end of the Strip would not be a big loss.
He no longer takes his 1965 Corvette there on Saturday nights as he feels out of place among the drivers cruising in their souped-up newer vehicles.
"Wasaga is so ready for this. The place has hardly changed for 30 or 40 years," Mr. Seip said.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20070816.wwasaga16/BNStory/National/Ontario/
$350 million development splashes into Wasaga Beach
Brothers’ ice cream parlour grows into empire
Aug. 20, 2007
Blue Beach Avenue Corp.
An artist’s concept of the beachfront at the proposed Banana Club on Wasaga Beach. The project would see redevelopment of the downtown beach area and creation of a resort and pedestrian mall.
VINCE VERSACE
staff writer
A proposed $350 million development in Wasaga Beach could make one of Ontario’s busiest communities for construction even busier, says the town’s economic development officer.
“Construction companies are our number one employer right now,†says Bonnie Smith, Wasaga Beach’s economic development officer.
Blue Beach Avenue Corp. proposes to develop a 27-acre site which will transform Wasaga into a year round destination. The project includes hotels, several condominiums, themed restaurants and bistros, retail shops and services, conference facility, spa and amusement parks.
Dov and Armand Levy, Blue Beach principals, figure it could take between three to five years to build their development. Approximately 9,000 construction jobs would be created over the course of development, says Dov Levy.
The Levys first set up shop in Wasaga 17 years ago with a small ice-cream parlour and are excited about their new vision for Wasaga. They also own other businesses and property in town.
“We always believed in the beach and the potential that was here,†says Dov Levy. “We knew there was a fix for it.â€
The project’s retail and entertainment attractions will include an “an upscale designed boardwalk†to help demonstrate various exhibits for special events year round.
The indoor and outdoor theme parks will include a snowboarding and skiing complex. Features such as dinner and stage theatre, waterfront hotel suites, condominium vacation villas and a convention facility will help enhance the year round viability of the development and Wasaga, notes Levy.
“The challenge is determining what attractions or features to include for which phase,†says Levy. “It seems never ending.â€
The development would require a purchase of 23 properties from the town, including a 9.5 acre waterfront block with 700 feet of beach frontage. The sale of the land and minor rezoning is needed for the project which has still not gone through the town’s council approval process.
“We have been very fortunate with town officials liking and supporting the project and we anticipate further negotiations in the near future with approximately 10 acres of town lands,†explains Levy.
To accommodate the potential visitor crush, for the project’s proposed 400,000 square foot shopping plaza and indoor theme park, is a monorail to help bring them in from an 8,000 spot parking lot approximately three kilometres away.
A consultant for Blue Beach Avenue pegged the spin-off jobs created by the development at 34,000. Smith agrees that the ripple effect of this enormous development will be felt throughout the Wasaga Beach community.
“This development will create many jobs for our community and year round employment,†adds Smith. “It will also enlarge our tax base and likely raise the tourist bar and create a new destination on Georgian Bay.â€
Wasaga Beach currently has 80 developments underway and a $100 million conference centre proposed for the west end of town. “Our local area contractors are extremely busy right now and this project would be great for them,†says Smith. “Right now, when they need more people the bring them in.â€
http://www.dcnonl.com/article/id24066
