Builders were preparing to put a new roof on Hollyburn Lodge last month, but Mother Nature had other plans.
An early dump of snow was good news for skiers, but bad news for construction. Instead of installing roofing, workers ended up shovelling 10 inches of the white stuff off the floor of the lodge.
Due to the turn in weather, a plywood roof and weather-proofing materials have been put in place to protect the structure over the winter and construction is on hold until spring. The restored ski lodge in Cypress Mountain’s Nordic area is now slated to open its doors next summer.
“We were really hoping for a December 25 opening and racing to that date,” says Jackie Swanson, president of the Hollyburn Ridge Association. “We’re all disappointed that it couldn’t open Christmas day, but it was a real hefty hope.”
The 90-year-old one-storey lodge has been undergoing much-needed structural upgrades since September. Once complete, heritage elements salvaged from the building, including some floor boards, windows and historical memorabilia, will be put back in place.
“All of those exciting things, they’ll all be incorporated by the time it opens on July 1,” Swanson says, noting that, thanks to a new sewer hookup, next year will mark the first time the lodge has been open to summer hikers.
Of the $1.1 million required to rebuild Hollyburn Lodge, $500,000 is coming from Cypress Mountain’s ownership group, CNL Lifestyle Properties, while the District of West Vancouver is pitching in $200,000 and B.C. Parks is contributing $100,000 from its Olympic Legacy Fund.
The Hollyburn Ridge Association and the Hollyburn Heritage Society have been busy collecting corporate and public donations to make up the rest. As of Dec. 10, funds stood at $1,053,965.45 and Swanson hopes to close the gap by Feb. 29, 2016. A tribute board with the names of donors will be permanently installed outside the lodge by First Lake.
“It’s such an important thing and it’s touched so many people’s hearts since the 1920s,” Swanson says of the lodge. “It’s been giving for 90 years, and the way we’re constructing it, it’ll be giving for another 100 years.”
Visit fundaid.ca/hollyburnlodge to make a donation.
Hollyburn Lodge Renewal Fundraiser
Hollyburn Lodge is in its final stages of construction to serve as a fully operational Nordic facility.
