GOING GREEN: Market grows for sustainable getaway places
KATHRYN YOUNG
Province
Windmill Developments, one of Canada’s top green builders, is building a 38-cottage eco-resort along the Ottawa River
Cottages at Whitewater Village will feature geothermal heating and solar panels.
As more green-minded Canadians look to spend their vacation dollars in ecofriendly places, environmentally sensitive resorts, hotels, inns and lodges are popping up like organic mushrooms.
Whitewater Village, a 38cottage year-round ecoresort planned by Windmill Developments, one of Canada’s top green builders, is just the latest addition to the growing list of such vacation venues across the country.
Featuring geothermal heating and cooling, solar hot water and electricity, the development will break ground in spring 2008 along the Ottawa River near rapids that draw whitewater rafters and kayakers from around the world.
Whitewater Village will be surrounded by an 1,800hectare land trust to keep further development at bay, aims to be carbon neutral and will have a peat moss sanitation system.
The exterior of the cottages, generally two-storey structures, will be constructed of logs certified by the Forest Stewardship Council. Interior features will include bamboo floors, wool carpets, formaldehydefree kitchen cabinets and recycled-paper countertops.
“We feel it’s a fairly untapped market,” said Jonathan Westeinde, Windmill’s managing partner.
“It’s a little outside the box for what we do but part of the reason we’re there is it interests me a lot. When you look at the market for green and sustainable, you’re getting downtown urban condo dwellers and you’re getting a lot of cottage owners.” Urban condominiums have been the principal focus of Windmill, which has built such leading-edge projects as Dockside Green in Victoria, The Bridges (Acqua and Vento) in Calgary, and The Currents in Ottawa. All have been built to LEED (leadership in energy and environmental design) standards. Windmill will apply those principles to the eco-resort.
“All the interior finishes will be the same as if it was a LEED home,” Westeinde said.
Whitewater Village is aimed at families who might not be able to afford the rising cost of a cottage property, or be willing to put in the year-round commitment to a property that is actually used for only a portion of the year.
The 38 cottages will be sold on a fractional ownership basis — akin to a timeshare but the owner can sell and buy just as with any other real estate, said Westeinde. People can buy six weeks of cottage time, to be spread throughout the year, for prices ranging from $60,000 to $85,000.
Alberta’s Bridgegate on Crowsnest Lake is another enviro-friendly vacation resort southwest of Calgary that also permits fractional ownership of some of its condominium vacation homes. When completed, the development will include a five-star hotel, fitness centre, casino, shopping, restaurants and an organic micro-brew pub.
The complex will have a compact, low-impact design to prevent sprawl as well as greywater re-use, and alternative energy sources such as solar, wind and geothermal.
The market for eco-resorts is growing and will continue to do so, said Joseph Hnatiuk, president of the Saskatchewan Nature and Ecotourism Association, which has been accrediting ecotourist lodges, parks, hotels and tourism sites since 2000 under a program approved by the International Ecotourism Society.
The combination of millions of retiring baby boomers and the growing interest in environmental issues are behind the burgeoning market, he said.
“I’ve seen tremendous progress, but not as fast as I’d like to see it develop,” Hnatiuk said. “With the [current] attitude regarding the environment, it’s getting a little easier.”
