By Katharine Sandiford -- Whitehorse’s Northern Vision Development is snapping up properties at a remarkable rate. But the seven-year-old company is looking for more than profits: It wants to transform the Yukon capital into a vibrant place to live and a high-end vacation destination.

Christine Cleghorn parks her bike, skips up the stairs to her office, plops down into her designer chair and, rosy-cheeked and grinning, fixes her straight brown hair with her fingers. She’s thirty-something, wears cords and a hand-knit wool sweater, and pulls a lunch from her bag to stick in the fridge. She generally looks more like a grad student than a well-paid executive.

She seems an unlikely candidate to be running Whitehorse’s two premier hotels. Around town, Cleghorn is better known as an environmentalist: Over the last decade she’s built a name for herself, first as the five-year executive director of the Yukon Conservation Society – the territory’s feisty green NGO – and, more recently, as the head honcho at the Yukon Fish and Wildlife Management Board. How then, did she end up as general manager of hotels at Northern Vision Development, a high-powered, big-business enterprise that owns the High Country Inn, the Gold Rush Inn, Spook Creek Station, the Yukon Centre Mall, a huge chunk of waterfront land and many other properties? “I was ready for change. I was ready to work for someone great,” she says. “This company has real vision and the people are really unique and excellent.” A closer look at their employees – a motley crew of personalities and professionals – and you’ll notice few fit any stereotype.

It begs the question: What do you get when you put an Order of Canada-winning former Yukon Premier, a real-estate magnate, a hero environmentalist, a wealthy Calgarian ad executive, a dog-musher, and a slick, high-end restaurant manager with a background in forestry together in a room? An unstoppable, forward-thinking, ultra-determined real estate development and hotel management company that intends to sculpt the future of Whitehorse one property at a time – and with plans to make more than just profits. Since forming in 2002, Northern Visions Development has grown from two guys and one property to seven core staff, 180 hotel staff, over 25 properties, a killer board of directors, dozens of investors, and assets climbing towards $50-million. At this rate, they seem unstoppable. Indeed, ask any employee and they’ll tell you the vision behind their namesake’s a big one, and the work they’ve done thus far has barely laid down the groundwork for what’s to come.

When the City of Whitehorse unexpectedly put a prime slice of its waterfront property up for sale six years ago, Piers McDonald nearly jumped out of his boots. For decades, throughout his years as a hard-rock miner, his era as a politician, then premier, he’d been dreaming about the potential of those empty lots – a ribbon of now overgrown land that seals downtown from the Yukon River – and here was his chance. With visions of condos, retail shops, hotels, pubs, spas, and other sugar plums dancing through their heads, McDonald and his NDP cabinet colleague Trevor Harding quickly mobilized funds and snapped the property up within 24 hours. “At the time of purchase, we were well-meaning people without much business experience and under-capitalized, although we didn’t know it,” says McDonald. “We didn’t have any money to develop anything and so we sold ourselves out to a bigger company that we created... and that’s now Northern Vision Development.”

To develop the land they would need cash, and to get cash they would need investors, a diversity of properties and cash-flow initiatives. Harding, now based out of Calgary, hustled his home-town investors, found partnerships with Rich Thompson and Myron Tetreault – both now board members and major shareholders – and lured bankers, venture capitalists and other southern bigwigs by taking them on special trips to the Yukon to show them the vast potential of the place. “Halibut has helped us out quite a bit to raise money,” says Harding, chuckling. “I’ve taken these guys out on my boat at Skagway to help seal those deals.” Now 70 per cent of the company is Alberta-owned, while Yukoners like Liberal leader Arthur Mitchell, real estate grandmasters Daryl Weigand and Mark Griffis, tourism tycoon Rod Taylor, and the Yukon Indian Development Corporation and Inuvialuit Development Corporation make up the rest. “Having that local interest and contribution to management gives us good tentacles into the community,” says Harding.

The board of directors is a selection from the above list of all-stars and what Harding describes as “a very, very active board; a lot of group e-mails go around.” Politically, they’re a mishmash of New Democrats, Liberals and Conservatives who, now that they have stepped out of the political boxing ring, get along like best friends. “In standard Yukon fashion, it’s a political mongrel of a company,” says Harding. “I’m pleased to say that’s an important aspect of the company.”

Undeniably, Northern Vision is led by president and chairman Piers McDonald. For the first three years, he worked tirelessly and without drawing a salary to get the company off the ground. Although everybody shares his enthusiasm, he’s the one wearing the 3-D Technicolor glasses.

This is the man who, during his long political career, brought new economic development reforms, opened the college and art centre, introduced innovative economic and energy policies, and encouraged major advancements in land claims. Later, he oversaw the hugely successful Whitehorse 2007 Canada Winter Games as its volunteer president and made sure the rest of Canada turned their head for a good, long look. Now, with Northern Vision – taking on his latest incarnation as an entrepreneur with gusto – he is dead set on transforming Whitehorse into a thriving, vibrant, high-end destination and overall great place to live. “The waterfront project is the prime motivator and the main reason I want to do this job,” says McDonald. “It’s more than just building buildings. It’s about designing something that fits with the community, a place to live and work, something that is oriented to the river, something that respects the environment.”

Last summer in Ottawa, he was appointed an officer to the Order of Canada, our country’s highest civilian honour, for his contributions to the legislature and economic development. Lauded widely for his leadership abilities, many say the Yukon would be a very different place had he not stumbled up from Kingston, Ont. as a kid looking to pay off his university debts by working in the Keno mines.

A quick scan over some of Northern Vision’s partners and board members reveals they’re all cut from the same cloth: Rod Taylor runs Uncommon Journeys, a high-end dog-sledding outfitter. He’s also chair of the Tourism Industry Association of the Yukon and a recent addition to the board of directors of the Canadian Tourism Commission. Mark Griffis and Daryl Weigand are 50-50 owners of the ReMax Action Realty shop in Whitehorse. Myron Tetreault is a high-rolling Albertan venture capitalist who fell in love with the Yukon several years ago when he was here to climb Mount Logan. Trevor Harding served as Yukon’s Education Minister and now owns a Calgary medical imaging clinic and, along with Rich Thompson, a successful marketing and advertising company called Zero Gravity. Thompson’s a thoroughbred Albertan but takes his chances on the Yukon because, after years of repeat vacations here, he feels attached to the place. “It’s a hallmark of our team here, from our executive board, right down to our front-line employees, to have a passion for the Yukon,” says Harding.

But it’s a tough game; there aren’t many wealthy investors out there that also happen to have a thing for the Yukon. “Getting people to invest has been a big challenge,” says Harding. People are more likely to put their money into the mining and resource sector – when it’s up – but securing investments in secondary plays, like real estate, hotels and commercial income properties, has not been easy. “Even though we can produce reasonable returns, we’re competing with markets all over Canada, like Grande Prairie or Fort McMurray,” says Harding. “But our argument says Yukon is an emerging economy that is primarily government driven with huge potential for tourism and resource development.” He says the Yukon will survive the current economic downturn reasonably well and be positioned for future upturns because of the security that the roughly $1-billion in yearly federal funds provides. He likens the Yukon economy to a four-story commercial building: The first three stories are already rented out to the government but the top-floor is where you can take some chances and make considerable returns.

And so, after the initial purchase of the waterfront property – which spans the length of the Yukon River between Wal-Mart and Boston Pizza – the company has been busy buying and building: snatching up more parcels on the waterfront and elsewhere as they became available, building Earl’s restaurant, a branch of the First Nations Bank of Canada and the attractive two-story Spook Creek Station building which currently houses its head offices. The company has also acquired apartment complexes like the three buildings across from the airport and purchased the Gold Rush Inn and the High Country Inn – two of the territory’s most successful and largest hotels – and the 9,000-square-foot Yukon Convention Centre.

The first thing this company wants to see in the Yukon is the development of top-notch visitor facilities. Conditions at its two hotels had begun to deteriorate so the company immediately began renovations to the Gold Rush Inn, spending $1.2-million on upgrades. “We replaced the furniture and the sagging mattresses, converting it from a motel feel to a high-quality, business hotel,” says McDonald. “Travellers from outside the territory know the difference and expect better.” Conventions, government meetings, sporting events and business workshops make up the hotel’s bread-and-butter. Add to that the steady flow of summer tourists, and the combined 184 rooms are rarely empty.

Another bold move was to hire Adam Gerle. He’s a handsome, smooth-talking, thirty-something waiter that they snatched off the floor of Giorgio’s Ristorante, one of Whitehorse’s more popular fine-dining establishments. Northern Vision gave him the job of sales and marketing director for both hotels and the convention centre.

It’s a big job, considering he’s replacing the mega-personalities of former owners Gold Nuggie Dougie (gold-toothed Doug Thomas ran the Gold Rush Inn and acquired Colourful Five Per Cent status) and Tasmanian nice-guy Barry Belchambers (who always sat down with you for a drink in the bar). Sure, Gerle was the restaurant’s manager. His charm, wit and general likeability ingratiated him to Whitehorse’s movers and shakers one serving of marinated octopus at a time. “Barry and Doug were very hands-on,” says Gerle. “Especially Barry, he was Mr. Promoter. He went to every trade show, he always mingled with the clients. He built his business on personal relationships and it’s hard to compete with that.”

But compete he does. Gerle travels constantly to trade shows, often with a pack of other Yukon promoters: Yukon Tourism, the City of Whitehorse, Air North and the Westmark Hotel. Last December, Gerle and gang went to Vancouver for a “meeting planner meeting” and the bookings he roped in from the government agencies and various event planning companies in attendance helped boost business big time: they’re filling up well into 2009. Gerle claims, as one example, that he convinced the Canadian Wildlife Federation to hold their annual convention in Whitehorse and so, for one week, “they’re taking up every room and every square inch of meeting rooms in both hotels.”

Talking with Gerle in his office tucked in behind the Gold Rush Inn’s wooden front desk, you can see why they chose him for the job. He’s charming, courteous, makes non-threatening eye contact and shamelessly boasts that he knows everyone in town. With a forestry degree and 10 years restaurant experience under his belt, he knows landing this job was something only possible in a town like Whitehorse. “I would never be doing what I’m doing right now if I was starting off in a big city,” he says. It helped, probably, that Gerle was headwaiter at Trevor Harding’s Giorgio’s-based wedding reception. “It was an early connection,” he says.

His job is less about promoting the hotels and more about promoting the Yukon as a destination. “Part of it is raising awareness,” he says. “People don’t know the Yukon exists or, if they do, they have misconceptions about how far and isolated and cold we are and how expensive it is to get up here.” He’s developed a flat sheet that proves to potential conference-goers from Alberta or B.C. that they are better off choosing Whitehorse for their big event than Toronto. Not only are the prices comparable and the facilities world-class, the Yukon, he argues, is spectacular, unique and packed with fun and unforgettable things to do.

In a sense, Gerle represents the spirit of the company: pioneering, optimistic, endlessly promoting the Yukon, convincing people it’s a place worth investing your money – whether it be for a weekend getaway or to unload your eight-figure inheritance in local property investments. “This is not a big stuffy formal company with levels and levels,” says Gerle. “They’re down-to-earth, they know the Yukon, the market, the lifestyle, it’s not like some faceless American company came up here and bought all these places. We’re locals and yet we’re a powerful entity.”

But for all its optimism, is the company powerful enough to survive today’s economic ruins? Gerle says 2009 is almost fully booked. McDonald says the company was designed, early on, to be resilient. “Our investments are designed to thrive in a boom-and-bust economy,” he says. “If it crashes, we’re okay. If there’s a pipeline, well yes, we’ll all be swimming in cash.”

But Harding, perhaps the hardened realist of the happy clan, claims Northern Vision needs more cash flow. He is eager for the company to “condominiumize” 27 of its apartment buildings. He is anxious to sell or lease the 40 or so serviced lots it is developing in its new waterfront business-park called Titanium Way, well situated on a million-square-foot waterfront property it owns in the industrial area. He likes the hotels for their profitability and their usefulness as a vehicle to market the Yukon. Above all else, he wants the company to acquire properties that generate profits and not just lofty dreams of a Yukon paradise.

Another worry is the looming closure of the seven-year partnership in 2010. Investors will have an opportunity to re-invest or pull their cash. Harding knows some will be looking to draw their earnings. “We need to develop a liquidity event for our investors,” he says. “Some people are struggling financially and will want liquidity while others will want to continue with the arrangement.” He also knows many will stick with it: For maximum valuation of your assets, he says, don’t sell in tough economic times. Continued ...
arding is also pushing hard to bring the Vancouver Olympics to Whitehorse. He’s inviting teams to come up for the weeks prior to the games, to acclimatize, train, enjoy the fresh Sub-arctic air, and stay at Northern Vision’s hotels. Not only would these deals secure considerable bookings, the international exposure it would garner for the hotels and the Yukon as a destination would be priceless. With the Canada Games Centre, the Vancouver time zone and sport infrastructure similar to what they have at Whistler, Harding is confident they’ll be full pre-Olympics. Already, the Olympic torch relay is scheduled to come through Whitehorse. The whole entourage will be staying at the Gold Rush Inn.

Beyond 2010, what’s the long-term vision? It’s difficult to get exact plans and descriptions for anything beyond a few years down the road. Everyone is rightfully cautious not to make promises or set expectations they might not be able to keep. McDonald offers something, albeit conceptual, about his plans for his pet project, the waterfront: “It’s a suite hotel, along with a pub and a condo development. And why not think about the environment? Where we can take action we will. We are exploring LEED building certification and determining how we can make that a standard operating procedure.” LEED is a global green-building program, standing for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design.

For now, Cleghorn works away, bit by bit, reorganizing the hotel operations so they’re cutting waste and cutting costs; tending to their “double bottom-line” as it’s known in socially responsible enterprise. She’s investigating solar hot-water heaters (there’s already one in the Gold Rush Inn), conducting energy audits, designing a laundry program that reduces chemical, energy and water use without jeopardizing guest comfort. “There’s no end to the things that we can do,” she says, her eyes big and smiling.

Like the rest of Northern Vision’s employees, Cleghorn is confident, enthusiastic, fulfilled. “Part of the vision that I share with the company and that attracted me to it is the sense of fearlessness about where we can go,” she says. “I find that exciting. We have a strong sense of knowing who we are, what we want and how to get there. This is refreshing. We’re in control of our future.”