Editor's note: This story has been updated since first posting.
North Vancouver’s iconic Grouse Mountain Resort is going up for sale.
The ski resort, which has been owned by the McLaughlin family for over 40 years, announced Monday that the current owners have hired a real estate company to sell its operations and the 1,200 acres of private land that makes up the resort.
The announcement comes as the ski hill is getting set to celebrate its 90th season of operation this winter.
In a press statement, owners of the mountain stated the decision to sell will “ensure that Grouse Mountain continues to build on its strong heritage and further cultivate the Grouse Mountain brand and opportunities.”
Tony Quattrin of CBRE Canada – the company with the contract to market the resort – described the sale in a press statement as “a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to acquire an iconic Vancouver landmark.”
Quattrin added he anticipates a “high level of local, national and international interest” in the property.
District of North Vancouver Mayor Richard Walton said the resort has been a key economic player and employer on the North Shore for more than 50 years. The resort employs from 550 to 850 workers depending on the season. Grouse is also one of the tourist attractions that helped define the Vancouver area brand as a place close to nature, he said.
“A lot of people who come to Vancouver may only do a couple of things. One of them is to come to the North Shore and go to the Capilano Suspension Bridge and up Grouse.”
Walton said Grouse has been a good corporate neighbour to the District of North Vancouver. He added he hopes the new owners will continue that relationship.
According to the resort’s press statement, the ski hill has pumped $55 million in capital investments into the resort since 1989.
Over recent decades, Grouse has sought to buffer itself from seasons of low snowfall by diversifying its attractions across all four seasons, adding a high-end restaurant, First Nations feast house, zip line and a wildlife refuge. Most recently the resort added a chance for tourists to experience the thrill of riding up the mountain on top of the Skyride.
These days, the resort, which sees 1.3 million visitors each year, has more visitors in summer than it does in winter.
Louise Ranger, chief executive officer for the North Vancouver Chamber of Commerce, described Grouse as “one of the world’s best attractions, adding the resort has “managed to completely diversify” in recent years.
Ranger, who learned to ski at Grouse, said she recently went for a business tour at Grouse. “Every time I go back I think it’s incredible,” she said. “Grouse Mountain has a lot to be proud of.”
Stuart McLaughlin, the West Vancouver businessman and most public member of the McLaughlin family, has been widely credited with turning the resort into a four-season destination and, in the process, turning the resort’s financial position around.
McLaughlin stepped aside from his role as president and public spokesman for the resort in 2015, but remains director of the family-owned corporation that owns the resort, along with his Ontario-based sisters Joanne McLaughlin and Julie McLaughlin.
So far there’s no word about the asking price for the resort.
The announcement comes less than two months after Whistler Blackcomb was bought by the U.S.-based company Vail Resorts for $1.4 billion.
“It does create a little bit of uncertainty. It also presents opportunity,” said Ranger of the sale announcement. “Sometimes larger companies bring the strength of investment dollars.”
