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Nita Lake Lodge proposal would transform Creekside

A new train station in Whistler at a time when B.C.

A new train station in Whistler at a time when B.C. Rail is pulling out of the passenger rail business?

A proposed private surgical centre in town when hospitals are shutting down throughout the province?

Some would question the viability of these projects.

Yet developer John Haibeck, president of the Nita Lake Lodge Corporation, can see the merit of both facilities here.

About a year and a half ago when Haibeck was studying Whistler's infrastructure, he came up with a specific vision for a parcel of land in Creekside that included just those things.

"The location of the property lends itself to a certain type of development," said Haibeck, who was speaking at the first Business after Business gathering hosted by the Whistler Chamber of Commerce last week.

The vision included a new train station which would revitalize rail travel to Whistler, and a surgical facility the likes of which Whistler and Canada has never seen, said the developers. The development proposal is on land formerly owned by the late John Taylor.

Over the course of the past year, the vision has given way to extensive research, schematic models and discussions with interested parties.

The idea is to turn the end of Lake Placid Road, at the edge of Nita Lake, into a commercial anchor in south Whistler, in keeping with the municipality's goal from the 1991 Whistler Creek Study which recommended commercial development of that site.

At present, the train coming into Whistler chugs into a desolate platform, barely marking a visitor's arrival at one of the top ski resorts in North America.

In Haibeck's vision passengers would be welcomed into a new two-storey train station, complete with a waiting lounge, restaurant and check-in area.

Earl Simons, the corporation's rail consultant, admits that commuter passenger train travel isn't going to work. But what he believes will succeed is train travel for the tourist.

"I agree that passenger commuter service is not viable," he said.

"It's always going to be subsidized."

A recent provincial transportation study supports Simons’ ideas. It concluded that there isn’t sufficient demand for a commuter train between Vancouver and Whistler – even with certain improvements – to pay for the service.

But the new train station isn't geared to the dwindling commuter passenger market. Rather it is targeting a specific niche market, one that has remained relatively untapped on the Vancouver-Whistler route: the cruise ship tourist.

Of the 1.2 million visitors who come through Vancouver for a cruise, only two per cent make the trip to Whistler before or after their cruise.

Currently 116,000 passengers ride the rails each year in this area. Simons said that by tackling the cruise market that number could jump to almost 170,000.

That's about five per cent of the cruise ship market.

And to entice them to the trains, Simons proposes cars with domed windows, open-air observation decks, tour commentary and a gourmet dining room.

The one-way trip would take about three and a half hours in total and would be geared to the summer traveller, running seven days a week during high season.

The service will cost between $38 for a basic ticket and up to $95 for the entire high-end deal. Haibeck says there are three companies interested in providing the rail service between Vancouver and Whistler.

To round off the package, Simons said they hope to get a downtown terminal in Vancouver.

With services like these, the proponents are also hoping to revitalize the commuter market in coming years.

"Down the line, if you want a commuter business, then you need a station," said Haibeck.

"It's just another way of taking vehicles off the highway."

The second major aspect to the development scheme is the state-of-the-art medical facility, described by Dr. Mark Godley as "something like the Mayo Clinic of the north."

Godley operates the False Creek Surgical Centre in Vancouver and is the driving force behind establishing a satellite centre in Whistler.

He reassured the gathering that the surgical facility would not compete with the Whistler Health Care Centre, rather it will complement its services.

It will not function as a primary care facility, he said, but will have sophisticated diagnostic equipment like MRIs and rapid CTIs.

The centre could be turned into a triage centre in the event of mass disaster.

The centre would offer surgical procedures ranging from general to orthopedic, gynaecology and plastic.

The centre would also be geared towards joint replacements in the aging baby boomer population.

But critics of a private surgical centre say privatizing health care here isn't fair for Whistler residents who would have to pay for the same services.

Godley said he is in discussions with the provincial government to get MSP services at the surgical site.

"It's morally and ethically unthinkable the government wouldn't allow normal Canadians to access this facility," he said.

Godley envisions the centre as a world-renowned place where surgeons can come together to research and pool their knowledge.

It will also be a place where people will come from around the world to get their treatment, which in turn will create a whole new economy in Whistler in the form of "destination medicine."

People won't be coming to Whistler just to ski or bike. They will be coming for surgery and to recuperate here, he said.

There will be 35 apartments above the surgery where top class surgeons can stay with their families while they work at the centre. These apartments can also serve as makeshift hospital rooms where patients, having gone through surgery, can recover.

Rounding off the commercial activity, the developer wants a neighbourhood financial institution, specifically the North Shore Credit Union, and other retail services next to the surgical site.

Haibeck plans to pay for the project by developing 11 single-family lots in 23 forested acres of land adjacent to the train station.

"That pays for the project," said Haibeck.

The rail changes alone are slated to cost around $5 million and the surgical centre will cost over $20 million.

An employee housing complex will also be built within the 23 acres. The municipality requires the development to supply housing for 55 people. The developer will be providing twice that number.

The bed units for the development will come from the Zen property, which encompasses the Alpha Creek TV1 wetlands.

The Nita Lake Lodge Corporation is proposing those wetlands be dedicated for preservation.

This development proposal is scheduled to go before Whistler council on June 17.