Bob Mackin
If the CEO of the family company that owns Grouse Mountain gets his way, skiers, snowboarders and snowshoers will have a new place to stay overnight.
Before he cut the ribbon and launched the $35 million Blue Grouse Gondola on Dec. 12, Northland Properties’ Tom Gaglardi told theBreaker.news that his goal is to offer accommodation and other amenities on the Peak of Vancouver.
Northland Properties CEO Tom Gaglardi at the Dec. 12, 2024 Blue Grouse Gondola opening (Mackin)
“Longer range, we’d love to see a hotel, spa, conference, those types of things being added, but that’s probably, realistically, in the five-to-10 year range,” Gaglardi said in an interview. “We’ve got a lot to do before then.”
That includes a new mountain bike park and mountain coaster in 2025 and renovations to the lodge. District of North Vancouver’s biggest private employer will celebrate its centennial in 2026.
Vancouver-based Northland owns the 64-location Sandman Hotel Group, four Sutton Place Hotels and the seaside Portmarnock Hotel and Jameson Golf Links in Dublin.
The Gaglardi family bought Grouse from Chinese concern China Minsheng Investment Group (CMIG) in early 2020, before the pandemic. Northland did not reveal what it paid, but Grouse’s asking price was $200 million when CMIG bought in 2017.
Northland broke ground on the Blue Grouse Gondola in September 2022. The 27, eight-seater cabins travel from point-to-point in five-and-a-half minutes. Grouse Mountain celebrated with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the base and fireworks display at the top.
Last summer, Grouse finished upgrading its sewage and power infrastructure. That required a permit to remove almost 1,110 trees, including one 41 metres in height. Grouse hired Vancouver’s Veritree to plant 25,000 trees over three years across B.C.
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