Muskoka’s premier resort is changing hands and its new owner is a developer who calls Bayview home.
Gil Blutrich, president and CEO of Skyline International Development, is buying the resort from its U.S.-based owners for a reported $26 million.The property includes 425 rooms, 95 serviced lots and additional land that could be developed in the future.
Skyline, a real estate and development company founded in Toronto in 1998, also owns a number of local properties, including the Cosmopolitan Hotel and Residences as well as Horseshoe Valley Resort in Barrie and Port McNicoll in Georgian Bay.
Deerhurst has been on and off the market for a couple years, but garnered significant media attention while hosting the G8 in June, 2010.
Anne White, director of communications for Deerhurst, said Blutrich will not comment on his plans for the resort until after the transaction closes at the end of February.
She did say the management and employment structure of the 800-acre resort remain unchanged at this point.
Kelly Haywood, executive director of the Huntsville Lake of Bays Chamber of Commerce, said the Chamber has a “dynamic relationship” with the resort.
“From a community perspective, Deerhurst is a jewel in our community.”
She said the Chamber has worked closely with the Deerhurst management team in the past and expects to do so in the future.
“I look forward to an exciting relationship with them,” she said.