The owners of the former Talisman resort property in the Beaver Valley are planning to build a $400 million Nordic spa, hotel and condo development.
An August 7th release from developers Brian Ellis and Phil Calvano says thier plan is to create one of the largest Nordic spas in North America.
Their proposed project is completely separate from the Beaver Valley Development Group’s proposal to build about 370 units on surrounding lands.
Ellis and Calvano own the skill hills and the resort buildings, and say in their release, for ten years, they have been working on a plan and, “Listening to many within the community with various ideas and thoughts for the former Talisman site.”
They say they’ve attended community meetings and listened to feedback, and claim that their revised development plans “will be completed without disrupting any environmentally sensitive lands.”
They say their design by architect Paul Raff will blend the development into the landscape and that a 900 vehicle parking lot will be “completely hidden from view.” They note, there will also have electric vehicle chargers. The design includes buildings with what Ellis and Calvano describe in their release as having ‘green rooftops’ and natural building exteriors.
The development would include a hotel, convention centre, restaurants, spa, gym, large tropical indoor pool and solarium.
Their August 7th release says they’ve submitted their zoning bylaw amendment application to the Municipality of Grey Highlands.
Ellis and Calvano say once they receive comments from the municipality, their intention is to review the comments and present their vision to the community.
The old Talisman Ski Resort opened back in 1963, and at the time, was the largest ski resort in the province, however, it eventually closed in 2011 declaring bankruptcy.
The municipality bought the whole property in 2013 after it accumulated $2 million in tax arrears. The municipality then severed the land into thirds, selling the resort portion to a numbered company (2420124 Ontario Inc., represented by Phil Calvano and Brian Ellis) and keeping the 59 acres of recreational land overlooking the ski hills and the 75 acre golf course property until it sold those portions of land to Westway Capital Group in 2022. Beaver Valley Development Group’s proposed plans for those lands are being reviewed by local agencies and Grey County.
