The main end of Wasaga Beach could look a whole lot different in a couple of years if a 500 million dollar project goes through.
About 40 people turned out to hear the plans for a 6 storey, 250 room hotel with a glass buildling housing a 70 thousand square foot indoor water park and another hotel of 200 rooms beside it on Beaches 1 and 2.
Consultant for Blue Beach Development, Greg Black with OEB Enterprise says the 44 acre development will also include resort residential units, more parking including an outdoor skating rink on top of one parking building, restaurants and other amusement attractions.
He says Marriott has expressed interest in atleast one and possibly both hotels.
The residential component will include 212 terraced flats and 208 stacked townhouses.
Black says phase one will include the 250 room hotel, the waterpark, the new parking structure and more commercial space.
He says when council approves the plan, planning will hopefully start before the end of the year with infrastucture development starting in the spring.
He says the plan is to have the tourism components in the first phase open by 2012.
The consultant says just over 26 hundred jobs will be created over 4 years with the construction of the project and 744 on-going jobs on site as well as 473 off site for phase one.
Black insists you will still be able to cruise Beach Drive and have public access to the beaches.
He adds the project needs the backing of an investor and one is being secured, but the name isn’t being released just yet.
At last night’s meeting, council voted to receive the business plan and direct the town’s CAO to look at getting experts to provide some advice on the proposal.