Plans for a new marina and connected amenities are starting to take shape for Sandy Shores Resort, the development located at Lake Diefenbaker just near Gardiner Dam.
The major project was first announced at an anniversary event for Sandy Shores held last July by development owner Rauncie Kinnaird, who shared her vision of the resort one day being a central hub for activity in the Lake Diefenbaker region.
Eight months after that announcement, Kinnaird and Sandy Shores have come up with the preliminary plan for the marina project, as well as related amenities.
The Outlook caught up with Rauncie at the Sports & Leisure Show held in Saskatoon at Prairieland Park last weekend, where she touched on the progress of the marina plans and where things stand as of right now.
“For me, the progress was working with the number of government agencies on additional permits and agreements and permissions that need to be in place,” she said. “So now, we’re working with the irrigation district and the Ministry of Agriculture and we’ve come to some agreements on the position of it, and we have a preliminary plan. There are lots of permits left to go, but we’re confident that we have a plan that’s viable and we’re really excited to let people know what that plan is.”
When any sort of large-scale project moves on to the government agency phase, that’s when things may perhaps slow down to a pace one may not prefer, but Kinnaird says Sandy Shores will work alongside them to ensure things go smoothly.
“Projects that I have total control over move faster because there are a number of federal and provincial permits that are beyond my control,” she smiled. “They move at the speed of those agencies, and a number of those processes are new, so we’ll work as fast as we can with them.”
It’s too early to pinpoint any sort of concrete opening date for the marina, and while Rauncie would like to say 2021, a more realistic figure is probably the following year. That said, as things move along in the permit and application stages, Kinnaird says the original vision of the project has only been slightly altered.
“It’s largely the same,” she said. “We went from east/west orientation to north/south, so that offers additional shelter. It’s still the same number of slips that we anticipate, with over 200 in-land slips and with various boat sizes and commercial space, lots of recreational space, and so the overall concept has a few additional details now.”
The interest and the feedback on the marina plans have been a big plus from Rauncie’s point of view, who noted that her expectations for the entire Sandy Shores development in general have been exceeded.
“It’s been incredibly positive,” she said. “I think from the development perspective, it’s the same thing. This is beyond my expectations for either the development or the marina, I would’ve never expected any of this to take off at the pace that it has. It’s really tough to keep up with, actually, and it’s exciting to see the community take on a life of its own.”
The flip side of the coin as it pertains to awareness and demand shows that Lake Diefenbaker as a whole still needs to be in the conversation.
“We’re seeing a lot more awareness and demand,” said Rauncie. “I would say a lot of people are still largely unaware of Lake Diefenbaker, but every year that gets better and better and it’s the same with the development. I still think Diefenbaker entirely has a long way to go for awareness and we do as well, but we’re getting there!”
As exciting as the plans are for the 200+ slip marina, Kinnaird is looking forward to offering a comprehensive package to people as it relates to recreation. Plans in addition to the marina include rec areas such as a beach, walking trails, parks and playground attractions, as well as a commercial retail area that Sandy Shores Resort is seeking interested vendors.
“At the docks, it’s a marina with slip rental, but there will also be premium fuel, potable water, and we expect to have that retail area and we’re looking for commercial vendors,” said Rauncie. “If you’re excited and you’re an entrepreneur in the area, we’d love to hear from you. We’ll have other small spaces where we look after a number of washrooms and parks so you can just do your thing. We really want to invite the community of entrepreneurs and lot owners to come out and join our community.”
