Mont Cascades Expansion
 

This could be huge!

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa...tain-1.2937221

'The owner of the Mont Cascades ski resort in west Quebec plans to expand the facility on all sides of the mountain to become a mini Mont-Tremblant in five to 10 years.

Rick Hunter Mont Cascades Ski Resort Pro Slides Jan 29 2015
Rick Hunter, who owns Mont Cascades Ski Resort, says the rest of the mountain is ripe for development. (CBC News)

Mont Cascades in Cantley opened to skiers in 1971 and it also operates an outdoor waterslide park during the summer.

Proponents of the expansion say being so close to Ottawa makes it the ideal location to build a world-class, four-season resort.

"You come back to the Gaitneau [Hills] and is there a nicer place on the planet? And the answer would be no," said Mont Cascades owner Rick Hunter. "And we all love it, and we all want to take care of it, and that's where my head's at."

Hunter also owns Pro Slide, one of the world's largest manufacturers of waterslides. Since buying Mont Cascades in 1990, Hunter has been buying up land around the mountain.

He said his resort is ripe for expansion, considering only the north and east side are now developed. The plan is to include hundreds of condominiums and some retail stores.

Next year Hunter will add a $2 million quad chair lift, and other plans include adding more runs, better snow-making technologies and more.

Madeleine Brunette, the mayor of Cantley, said the area slated for development is zoned recreational-tourist, so her council approved the expansion.

Brunette said Hunter's plan will create the potential for 600 condos and 900 jobs, and that it's good for the region.'

Aren't these the same people that wanted to open the second waterpark in the region? Alotawata? Maybe this investment means that waterpark isn't happening.

On all sides of the mountain? I wonder if they have some sort of master plan? For example, will they build a lift and new runs on the West side of the mountain (going down towards the Gatineau River)? This would increase their vertical drop because that side goes down lower than the current base. Nice to hear about their new quad though, about time!

It includes a waterpark expansion from what I have heard. Part of the whole four-seasons park thing.

Existing area
http://i.imgur.com/VGriK80.jpg

Potential new face
http://i.imgur.com/Ols9M7c.jpg

Potential new face
http://i.imgur.com/zP82PP4.jpg

That western face looks like a very good candidate for expansion of the ski terrain. Would they (or do they already) be able to tap into the river as a source of water for snowmaking?

A lot more information on the master plan here!
http://www.ecosign.com/project/mont-cascades/
http://www.ecosign.com/wp-content/up...masterplan.jpg
http://www.ecosign.com/wp-content/up...s-village1.jpg
http://www.ecosign.com/wp-content/up...s-village2.jpg
http://www.ecosign.com/wp-content/up...s-village3.jpg

Very cool!

Wow, thats ambitious, especially now with the economy so fragile.

Any word on whether the vertical drop is going to increase now that the backside (west facing) will be developed into new runs/lifts down to the Gatineau River?

When the economy is like this is the perfect time to build. You need to pay less or your worker's salaries.

It states on the website from the link Harley posted that the Master Plan was completed in 2008 and 2010 and the CBC article was from January of this year, are they really proceeding?

Mont Cascade is so close to Ottawa and would be great place to own an all season condo, we currently ski there in the winter and have waterpark passes. I took a look and it really cool, with all the extra activities such as mini golf, horseback riding, horseshoeing trails, all season trails, tubing, skiing, expanded waterpark, beach area, docks (maybe you can fish), zip line, it would be great place to own or even rent. Only down side, the hill is pretty small, not sure how the west side will be but for a family, this looks great and you do not have to drive 2 hours.

People spend less on big items (houses, cars) and more on entertainment during difficult times. A the heart of the financial crisis in 2008-9, the UK saw a huge surge of theme park attendance.

There was a public consultation meeting on this plan in Cantley last night. The big issue they have is water and sewer access, but it looks like the community is mostly supporting it. They have already started the expansion by building a new quad where the dilapidated old double was. Bit by bit, I really believe this will be built. I'm particularly excited because I live ten minutes away at the bottom of Edelweiss, and this would be a great addition to the neighbourhood!

I hope it is a high speed quad because with that old double it took me longer to get to the top then to get to the bottom :D

The condos or ski in and ski out chalets that are up for sale are big ticket items.

The Ottawa economy isn't really that bad nor will it ever be while there's still that big employer called The Federal Government™ kicking around. I can see many public servants and real estate investors like myself being interested in this development. The incredible amount of Ottawa residents who own cottages (and mostly very expensive cottages) is testament to their being a strong local market for local vacation properties.

Indeed, but less doesn't mean not at all.

I think that this, along with Calypso, will help bring some much needed resort-type entertainment to the area.

I'm eager to see the price list for the condos... I hope they build them to LEED standards (gold or better!) Wouldn't it be great to have such a huge eco-ski-waterslide-resort?!

I love how people are walking around in shorts in the renderings, despite the snow! There's even a woman pushing a stroller through the snow (2nd last render!) Looks like this resort will cater to Vikings! :P

Cantley mayor downplays rumours of Mont Cascades expansion

Tom Spears, Ottawa Citizen
Published on: November 24, 2015 | Last Updated: November 24, 2015 7:06 PM EST

There’s a modest rumble of dissent this month opposing a planned expansion of Mont Cascades. But the expansion plan is neither new, nor going anywhere at the moment.

Mont Cascades owner Rick Hunter has called the project a “mini-Mont Tremblant,” and opposition surfaces from time to time.

That’s when Cantley Mayor Madeleine Brunette gets phone calls.

This time, she says, people started phoning because the municipality circulated a draft master plan this fall, as it does about every 10 years.

The master plan contains broad-brush designations similar to an official plan in Ontario. And it includes the expansion of Mont Cascades, which got people talking, although the plan contained nothing new about it.

Brunette and Aimé Sabourin, the councillor for the area around Mont Cascades, both told the Citizen on Tuesday that they haven’t heard from the resort owners since a presentation to council nearly a year ago.

“People think we are moving ahead without consulting them,” Brunette said. But she says it’s just an “embryonic project … We haven’t had any formal request at the municipality of Cantley” to approve the project.

“There’s a lack of understanding on the part of some citizens. And it’s a bit surprising: The citizens who seem to oppose it are citizens of Chelsea and La Pêche.” Both of those municipalities are on the other side of the Gatineau River from Cantley.

Asked about opposition in Cantley, she said: “There is a little but not much.”

Sabourin agreed: “There are some who are against, but there are many who are for it.” He said the plan has been public for about 10 years, but he has heard nothing recently about it.

The expansion would add stores, restaurants and some form of condos or a hotel, as well as more lifts and runs. There would be a village at the base of the hill.

Brunette thinks this would help the area. Many people come to Cantley to ski, golf or ride, she said, but at the end of the day they leave because there is almost nowhere to spend the night.

“We want to hold on to those visitors, (including) people from Gatineau and from Eastern Ontario.”

She would like to see condos and rental accommodation close to the resort, with higher density than the standard one-acre lots in Cantley.

In January, the municipality gave approval to the general concept of a Mont Cascades expansion and village. It called the resort “one of the main economic engines of the municipality,” and says the expanded ski resort and village are expected to create 900 local jobs directly and indirectly.

Management at Mont Cascades didn’t return calls Tuesday.

tspears@ottawacitizen.com
twitter.com/TomSpears1

http://ottawacitizen.com/business/lo...ades-expansion