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“I think it would be great for the village, the area, the region,” said Prévost, who was busy tending a fire for the adjacent trail-riders. “I know it’s challenging for some people to understand a big change like that.”
But he pointed out that any big innovation is often met with resistance. “I think the concept is awesome.”
Dani Chenier lived in Namur for 15 years and her husband has business interests there going back three generations. She called the project “audacious” and “interesting,” but thought the context was wrong.
“It looks like it should be in Laval or Dubai, or Kuala Lumpur.” She also rents out a home in the village for seasonal use and says the winter is a tough sell, which speaks to the viability of a 30-room hotel in Namur in winter or summer, it being 45 kilometres from Mont-Tremblant (a place loaded with services and activities).
“You come down an elevator, come outside and there’s nothing to do. All you have is scrub brush.”
But the whole point, Cloutier counters, is essentially to commune with nature in the middle of nowhere.
“You want to reconnect with Mother Nature,” he said. “There’s no need, say, for racing carts on the property.”
The mayor promises more public meetings on the proposal, probably in 2021.
To contact Kelly Egan, please call 613-291-6265 or email kegan@postmedia.com
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