Portion of Strathgartney Provincial Park to become luxury camping area

A portion of Strathgartney Provincial Park is being leased for 10 years to two P.E.I. entrepreneurs looking to make a year-round campsite there.

Mike Robertson is the co-owner of Meridian 63Luxury Camping along with his business partner, Stephane Labrosse. He saidtheir plan is to make smaller units with an emphasis on "off-grid" luxury experience.

They'll be converting the formercampground space into a luxury camping facility.

"It's not going to be tents and RVs, it's going to be structured units they're all going to be really small units, off-grid, you know, wood heat. We really feel it's more about the experience in the area," he said.

"We want it to feel like you're actually camping without the work of actually camping."

"The new facilities will be perfect for travellers looking for the camping experience but have limited equipment and time," Labrosse said.

"We'll provide everything they need so they can spend more time exploring the outdoors."

The province is leasing the park for $1 a year. It has also loaned the business $420,000 to help with the setup of the campground.

Matthew MacKay, minister of economic development and tourism, said the province was pitched the idea by the two and that it's a welcome addition to Strathgartney.

"We felt it would be a good fit," he said. "It's not going to interfere with the public at all, the park is not going to change."

MacKay said he's seen a "tremendous" increase of visitors to the area, particularly cyclists and walkers, and he sees the provincial park as something people can enjoy12 months ofthe year.

When asked why the province wouldn't do this on its own, MacKay said it was an idea the two came to the province with and wanted to see them run with it.

"They're the ones who put the work and their heart and soul into this, and this is howwe felt the best approach would go," he said. "It's going to be a great tourism product and we look forward to seeing how successful it will be."

There wasn't a request for proposal involved, because it wasn't a government project, he added.

'I think government really failed on this one'

Tourism critic and Liberal MLA Heath MacDonald said the lack of communication on this project from the provinceis "certainly raising a few red flags within communities and within some other businesses."

He said there are hundreds of people that explore that park each week and its trails, and Strathgartneyplayshost to organizations and their functions.

"It's important for government to be clear exactly what's taking place with that," he said. "I think government really failed on this one."

He said he hopes the businesses are successful, but he questions government's transparency on the entire project.

"When you get questions from organizations and people saying 'What's going on in Strathgartney? Are we losing our park? Are we going to have access to our park? Who are the new owners? Is it a lease? Is it a purchase?' Those are some of the questions that I think people are raising," he said.

MacDonaldsaid he wants to see the plan for Strathgartney and the contract between the province and the business.

Work will continue throughout the summer to remove old asphalt, concrete and building structures to return the park back to a more natural state.

The new campsite is set to open in the fall and will operate year-round.

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