On Site: Developer unveils first new buildings at Deerhurst in 25 years

LAKESIDE LODGE

LOCATION: Muskoka

BUILDER/DEVELOPER Skyline Resort Communities

SIZE Over 400 to 1,200 square feet

PRICE From $169,900 to $519,900

SALES CENTRE 25 Pen Lake Point Rd. off Deerhurst Drive in Huntsville. Open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

CONTACT Phone 1-855-915-2582 or visit www.owndeerhurst.com

Skyline Resort Communities owns several properties across Ontario, but their latest development is nestled within a four-seasons destination popular amongst all ages.

This comes as firsthand knowledge to CEO Michael Sneyd, whose teenage daughter asked to celebrate her 16th birthday at the established Deerhurst Resort in Muskoka.

"We spend a lot of time throughout the year at Deerhurst – and all of our properties – but my daughter's favourite, the place she wanted to go for her birthday in June, was Deerhurst," says Mr. Sneyd, who was also a resort regular in his youth.

"My wife and daughter had a spa treatment while I took my other daughter and son to the equestrian centre, and we went boating throughout Peninsula Lake and Fairy Lake, it was a wonderful time."

While residing at the resort is incentive enough for some buyers, the new low-rise residence, called Lakeside Lodge, will also sit on a prime waterfront site.

"This is the last available piece of waterfront land for condominium development at Deerhurst," Mr. Sneyd said.

"While many developers can build a condominium on a lake somewhere in Muskoka, Huronia or et cetera, the opportunity to have a condominium at an existing resort is something that is of exceptional value."

In July, previews began for the 162-unit residence, which is part of the redevelopment of the more than 300-hectare resort on Peninsula Lake, about two hours north of Toronto.

"This is the first new building at Deerhurst in over 25 years, and it's on the site of the original lodge that was the start of Deerhurst a century ago," Mr. Sneyd said.

"We've done a good job renovating almost all the original units, but to be able to build new and offer the latest and most appealing finishes and features will help keep Deerhurst at the forefront of the resort business in Ontario."

Within the contemporary five-storey building – which Richard Wengle Architect designed with peaked gables, pillars and a cupola – residents will have exclusive use of a lounge, games room and a pool overlooking the resort's beach, docks, walkways and pavilion barbecue areas.

"The resort already has two 18-hole championship golf courses, tennis courts, pools and a number or restaurants and spa, and it's adjacent to skiing at Hidden Valley," Mr. Sneyd adds.

"The site is so fantastic, the World Ironman has decided to hold not just a half Ironman at Deerhurt, which they've done for a number of years, but to have a full Ironman starting next year."

Within a 10-minute drive of the resort, there are attractions in and around Huntsville, from quaint shops to theatres.

Residents have a choice of studios to three-bedroom suites, fashioned by the Design Agency with nine-foot ceilings, stone kitchen counters and laminate floors.

"We designed the units with finishes and features that are of resort quality," Mr. Sneyd said. "So people who are buying at Lakeside Lodge don't need go through a series of upgrades."

Futhermore, units will have balconies or terraces. "Most of our units in the project actually have a view of either Peninsula Lake or our harbour area because of the situation of the building," Mr. Sneyd added.

Units can be entered into a rental program and the initiation fee to the SkyLife Club – valued at $25,000 – will be waived, giving buyers access and perks to Skyline Hotels & Resorts properties, such as Toronto's Pantages Hotel.

Units will include storage, surface parking and monthly fees of 52 cents per square feet. Occupancy begins 2016.