'We could not make it work': Nordic spa at Fort Edmonton Park cancelled

Eight pools will be built in Edmonton next year.

EDMONTON -- A proposal to build a Nordic spa next to Fort Edmonton Park has been cancelled, but one of the groups behind the project say it will look for another site.

The Fort Edmonton Management Co. and Edmonton Nordic Spa group dissolved their partnership three days before the spa was to be discussed at a city council public hearing.

“FEMCo leadership and the Board are truly disappointed that our partnership with Edmonton Nordic Spa Group has dissolved,” said Darren Dalgleish, president and CEO of Fort Edmonton Management Company. “Both organizations worked hard to find commercially viable common ground, but in the end we could not make it work.”

“We revisited our proposed plans and were not successful in finding a solution that had long-term sustainability for both organizations," said Hank Van Weelden, the managing partner for the Edmonton Nordic Spa Group. "We are disappointed that it has come to this."

The group began to plan the spa in May 2018. It was to cost $20 million and open in fall 2020.