onstruction has begun on a $1.5 billion resort. That’s not particularly exciting news, but get ready for the punch line: it’s happening in Canmore, Alberta. I know that seems completely unbelievable and almost impossible, but it’s happening. It’s happening as we speak (well…as you read anyways). The Village at SilverTip is being built just outside Canmore by Stone Creek Properties Inc. and will include 100,000 square feet of retail space with 80 – 100 local and high-end stores, plus 1, 300 condos, 1,000 resort condos, and 300 hotel rooms for good measure. This massive structure will instantly become the main tourist attraction and shopping spot in Canmore and just might bring a little more excitement to the city.

The concept for The Village is to recreate a European hill town (i.e. Tuscany or Provenance) in the heart of Alberta. All of the buildings will be designed to appear 200 years old. The project has apparently been in development for three years before being announced this week. The property that will be used is a stunning rocky mountain patch that has been almost entirely undeveloped for far too long. Once The Village opens up, this landscape will finally bring in some cash for the locals (yay capitalism!). It is estimated that upwards of 200,000 visitors will drop by every year. That’s a lot of tourist change to line the pockets of anyone living in the area.

Other planned stores and amenities for The Village include a conference centre, a piazza, several art galleries, an exploration centre, a golf course, a skating rink, a grand chateau hotel, a culinary institute, and a 20,000-square-foot spa. So…obviously this location won’t exactly be for struggling lower-income families. This is a rich man’s paradise all the way and should quickly become one of the wealthiest towns in Alberta. The Village is part of an overall expansion of Canmore known as Silvertip that began in 1993. The overall development will ultimately include 1,300 resort accommodation units, 700 residential units, and 800 staff units. So far, 350 residential unites have been built over the past decade. The Village will play a huge role in moving the Silvertip project closer to completion.