PHOTO BY DON DENTON
TALKING WITH TESSDAN MATTHEWS featuring
BY TESS VAN STRAATEN IT’S GOLF SEASON IN VICTORIA and after several years of instability, the embattled Westin Bear Mountain Golf Resort and Spa is moving out of the rough. New owner Dan Matthews, founder of BC-based Ecoasis Developments, wants to elevate the master-planned community to world-class status. It’s a full-circle moment for Matthews, whose family history in the area dates back more than 90 years. Tess van Straaten caught up with the sustainable development dynamo, who jet-sets between properties in Victoria, Hawaii and Whistler, to talk about growth, golf and getting a good work-life balance. Bear Mountain has had a lot of trouble over the last few years — ownership issues, bankruptcy. What’s the biggest challenge turning that around? The trouble with Bear Mountain was never with the development itself, but the structure of the prior
56
ownership and the financing. Bad structures lead to failed enterprises and too much debt can take any development off its course. Our purchase was all cash and our structure is such that we’re funded 100 per cent by the two partners of Ecoasis, so we can really focus on needs of community and the long-term goals of the resort. One of the first things you’ve done is reverse a contentious decision to take away nine holes of golf. Victoria has a lot of golf courses, why was it so important to have 36 holes? We’re a lifestyle developer, so amenities are key to our core strategy; reducing amenities is not in line with that strategy. The retention of all 36 holes fits with our overall objectives. We came up with a business model and listened to the community prior to making that announcement, and it became loud and clear that the retention of the 36 holes was important.