Sunshine Village still rebuilding as ski season nears

With just over a month to the start of ski season, Sunshine Village is still a construction zone.

The popular resort in Banff National Park has been closed all summer for repairs to flood-damaged roads, parking lots, buildings and ski runs.

The damage is estimated to be between $3 million and $5 millionand it's not known how much of that will be covered by insurance but staff are hoping there's a silver lining.

"The area's going to look newer and shinier," says Dave Riley, CEO of Sunshine Village. "[It] gave us an opportunity to rebuild a lot of things. People will find a nice looking Sunshine Village, a lot of it's new."

So far, work is on track and the resort is scheduled to open for the winter on November 8.

But staff say that date is still dependant on the weather.

New lodge planned

Meantime Sunshine Village is showing off plans for a new lodge it hopes to build on the hill.

There's an open house at the Banff Park Lodge on Tuesday night where people can see the design and ask questions about the project.

The 30,000-square-foot Goat's Eye Day Lodge would replace construction trailers that have been used as a restaurant for 10 years.

"Given that we're in Banff National Park, we want to build something that's really iconic and that Canadians can be proud of, said Riley.

So it's a beautiful building made out of wood and stone. It's also environmentally progressive in terms of energy efficiency, water efficiency, how it's heated."

Plans for the lodge go before Parks Canada's advisory development board on Thursday.

If approved, construction would begin next spring.