Work is underway on a $26 million redevelopment of the upper terminal of the popular sightseeing gondola on Banff’s Sulphur Mountain.
Brewster Travel Canada is demolishing the upper terminal of the Banff Gondola to construct a brand new building, complete with new café and restaurants, a 48-seat interactive theatre, expanded rooftop viewing platform and new conference space.
Officials with Brewster say the facelift is the company’s biggest investment in recent years and will make the tourist attraction, which draws about 550,000 visitors a year, the premier mountaintop experience in the Rockies.
“For us, this is about creating a better experience and better customer satisfaction,” said Mark Hendrikse, Brewster’s director of marketing.
The upper terminal and all of its facilities are now closed, although the gondola will continue to run until Oct. 26. The summit trail walk is open, but is not being maintained.
If all goes according to plan over winter, the gondola will reopen to the public on May 1, 2016 with limited sections of the terminal open. The building is expected to be fully open to the public on Aug. 1 next year.
Brewster has partnered with PCL Construction to design and build the new facility.
Although the footprint will remain unchanged, the existing structure will be retrofitted into a modern building with modern amenities and include up to 30 per cent more square footage than the existing building.
There will be new culinary offerings, including both grab-to-go and full-service sit down restaurant options, as well as new washroom facilities and an outdoor climbing wall for people of all ages.
The new building will also include an expanded rooftop viewing deck, providing 360-degree views of the Banff townsite, Bow Valley and surrounding mountains, and new conference space to accommodate weddings and corporate events for up to 150 people.
The addition of a 48-seat cinema will showcase a simulated presentation.
“It’s a completely immersive, simulated theatre, whereby the idea is you’re soaring through the Rocky Mountains,” said Hendrikse.
Banff Mayor Karen Sorensen welcomed Brewster’s plans to redevelop the popular tourist attraction.
“It’s a huge reinvestment and it’s an incredibly popular attraction. It’s very exciting,” she said.
“I don’t speak to many people who don’t include the gondola in their plans. It’s easy to get to, it’s close to town and you can get a great experience in terms of vistas.”
Hendrikse said 95 per cent of the work for construction and de-construction will be done via the gondola, with limited helicopter activity for the construction of the new mountaintop building.
He said the new building would include many green design features, including solar power to heat water and collection of rain water for toilets.
“We’re doing this right and the end result will be better from an environmental perspective than what’s existing now,” he said.
