Cabot Revelstoke is transforming the B.C. mountain city into a high-end, four-season destination anchored by golf, skiing, hospitality and luxury real estate.Supplied/Cabot
From an outpost on the transcontinental railway line in the 1880s to the heli-skiing capital of the world, Revelstoke, B.C., has evolved from a sleepy mountain town into a powdered paradise.
Located on the banks of the Columbia River – between the Monashee and Selkirk mountain ranges in southeastern B.C. – the city’s population fluctuates between 8,000 and 16,000 owing to seasonal workers and attracts more than 50,000 visitors annually.
Thanks to a recently announced partnership between hospitality and entertainment company Northland Properties and luxury developer Cabot, the number of adventure-seekers and global real estate investors is set to increase exponentially in Revelstoke.
The city is evolving into a high-end, four-season mountain destination anchored by Cabot Revelstoke, an 18-hole golf course and luxury mountain hotel that’s complete with restaurants and a variety of residential offerings as part of the first phase of the development’s community master plan.
“Cabot Revelstoke represents a significant tourism investment in Revelstoke and is an important milestone in the continued evolution of our destination,” says Ryan Melnyk, executive vice-president of commercial strategy and hospitality at Revelstoke Mountain Resort. “It reflects strong confidence in Revelstoke’s future and supports our long-term vision of growing a vibrant, year-round mountain community.”
Sleepy town to powder paradise
Revelstoke was known as a sleepy mountain city until 2007 when visitors started arriving owing to a major investment from Northland Properties, whose brands also include Chop Steakhouse & Bar, Denny’s Canada and Moxies.
The investment resulted in the opening of Revelstoke Mountain Resort, which included the addition of an eight-person gondola, a high-speed quad and expanded terrain for skiing.
Revelstoke Mountain Resort now features 3,121 skiable acres and 75 runs. It’s known for having the longest vertical descent in North America at 5,620 feet and is considered Canada’s best destination for heli-skiing and one of the top globally. Revelstoke Mountain Resort is also known for its powdery snow, with an annual average snowfall of 10.5 metres.
Cabot Revelstoke marks the latest addition to Cabot’s growing portfolio of luxury golf, resort and residential properties around the world.Supplied/Cabot
The Cabot Collection
When Ben Cowan-Dewar was 12 years old, he built his first golf hole on his parent’s farm east of Toronto.
Since then, the Canadian entrepreneur and golf aficionado has turned that childhood dream into a growing portfolio of luxury golf and real estate properties.
Cabot began in the former coal-mining town of Inverness, N.S., with the opening of the Cabot Links golf course in 2012. Over the past two decades, the brand has evolved into a successful developer and operator of luxury residential, resort and golf properties, with projects spanning Florida, Scotland, France and Saint Lucia.
For Mr. Cowan-Dewar, Cabot’s co-founder and CEO, determining where to invest starts and ends with finding the right site for a project. As the company’s golf portfolio grew, he realized that real estate was a natural complement.
“Like so many things about business, we learned and listened to the market, and there was a market to buy real estate,” Mr. Cowan-Dewar says. “It was not part of the original business plan when I started in Cape Breton in 2004, but now it’s a big part of our business and it’s been massively complementary.”
As an avid downhill skier, the entrepreneur first visited Revelstoke in the winter and experienced its pristine snow and unparalleled vertical hills. While building a golf course in the mountains is challenging, Mr. Cowan-Dewar was undeterred.
“There was a little bit of serendipity,” he says, adding that he was introduced by a friend to the Gaglardi family more than a decade ago. And although he wasn’t actively seeking another project, he agreed to visit the property and was immediately struck by its extraordinary setting and natural beauty.
“At the end of the day, what drew Ben to Revelstoke was the opportunity to create a mountain course,” adds Tom Gaglardi, chairman and chief executive of Northland Properties.
Designed by Rod Whitman of Whitman, Axland & Cutten, Cabot Revelstoke is expected to officially open around Canada Day next year. The designers worked with the natural landscape to create an 18-hole course that showcases the area’s distinctive terrain.
The four-star Cabot Revelstoke Mountain Lodge will feature 155 rooms, a spa, fitness centre, restaurants and more than 6,700 square feet of conference and event space when it opens in 2027.Supplied/Cabot
Luxury lodge
The slopeside, four-star hotel dubbed the Cabot Revelstoke Mountain Lodge is currently under construction. When it officially opens in 2027, it will feature 155 rooms, a gym, spa, more than 6,700 square feet of conference and event space, a Chop Steakhouse set to open late this year and a boutique coffee shop.
The lodge will also serve as the new home for heli-skiing tour company Selkirk Tangiers Heli Skiing.
“The new lodge and its meeting and convention facilities create opportunities to attract corporate retreats, conferences, incentive travel and business events that Revelstoke has historically been unable to accommodate,” Mr. Melnyk says. “These visitors often travel outside of traditional peak periods, helping to support a more balanced, year-round tourism economy.”
The future
The benefits of the Cabot-Revelstoke Mountain Resort partnership also extend throughout the community, with increased tourism supporting local businesses, creating employment opportunities and generating additional economic activity.
Beyond collaborating with Cabot on the resort and new Revelstoke residences, Northland Properties is working with local and regional governments to explore potentially expanding the Revelstoke Airport to accommodate commercial traffic.
“We’re really focused on trying to make the local airport more accessible,” Mr. Gaglardi says. “The dream would be to get commercial activity into that airport. We have a path for that. In the interim, the runway has been widened, but it also needs to be lengthened.”
Mr. Cowan-Dewar plans to keep growing the Cabot collection.
“At 47 years old, I can’t get a job doing anything else,” he says. “If we keep finding remarkable locations, and I still feel like a kid when I see something amazing, that’s our game plan.”