The foundation of the $3.5 million staff accommodation building going in the Black Forest area at Big White Ski Resort.
Image Credit: Big White Ski Resort
August 16, 2017 - 4:38 PM
KELOWNA - Big White is in the process of constructing a $3.5 million staff accommodation building in the Black Forest area of the ski resort.
The site will be the first of four planned buildings set aside for staff accommodation, according to a media release from Big White Ski Resort.
“We’re building the first set of units this year and it’s on the books to do it every season for the next three years - unless the economy changes again and more accommodation becomes available,” Michael J. Ballingall, senior vice president of Big White Ski Resort, says in the release.
The building will have 20 units, consisting of five, four-bedroom units, each equipped with a kitchen and common room.
“We rely on over 1,000 staff members living on the mountain,” Ballingall says. “With private citizens switching their accommodation availability out of staff accommodation and into Airbnb, we’re running short of hundreds of beds.”
Roughly 98 per cent of on-mountain accommodation at Big White is owned by private citizens, while only two per cent is owned by Big White Ski Resort Ltd., he says.
The staff accomodations building is being pre-manufactured and built offsite by Charparral Industries, a locally owned and family operated company. In order to minimize the environmental impact and on-site activity, Big White chose the modular building. All materials and supplies, such as custom built cabinetry and lumber, have been locally sourced.
Alan Mann, chief executive officer of Charparral Industries, says they trying to be energy efficient and have incorporated energy recovery ventilators and radiant heating panels into the design.
The artist rendering of the completed staff accommodation building.
Image Credit: Big White Ski Resort
To contact a reporter for this story, email Jenna Hickman or call 250-808-0143 or email the editor. You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom and be entered to win a monthly prize draw.
We welcome your comments and opinions on our stories but play nice. We won't censor or delete comments unless they contain off-topic statements or links, unnecessary vulgarity, false facts, spam or obviously fake profiles. If you have any concerns about what you see in comments, email the editor in the link above.
News from © iNFOnews, 2017