Development of a 50-key inn and spa at Canandaigua Lake, New York state, on land which is currently zoned for housing, will be put to a vote by the local authority.

The South Bristol town board voted against plans to develop 143.5 acres of land into Everwilde Inn & Spa in 2013, but the project has been adapted to incorporate local concerns.

The proposal includes an 18-treatment room destination spa, a restaurant, bakery, wine cellar, meeting rooms, a reception area for events and access to the lake. Owner Laura Cook hopes the plan – masterminded by Hanlon Architects – will be accepted so that the facility can open in 2016.

“I’ve felt for years that an inn and spa located here – in Canandaigua – would offer an escape for others to appreciate,” Cook told local media. “It will be a very quaint and personal haven with very thoughtfully landscaped grounds, leaving most of the pastoral acreage untouched for enjoyment.”

A spokesman for the Inn and Spa told local press: “We’re planning to have the land rezoned and build on 30 per cent of this property. We want to leave two thirds of it as vegetation.”

Cook compared the impact of her Everwilde vision to the alternative use of the land – the likely construction of 40 upscale single-family homes which would take up the entire property.

The proposed inn will be a ‘New England-style’ building with grey peaked roofs and window dormers – one or two storeys high – including several porches with white columns. Cook said the positive impacts of the project would include an increase in job creation, tax revenue and tourism.

Traffic, noise and the possibility of the Inn & Spa’s expansion in the future are all concerns for residents of South Bristol, whose board will review the project again within the next quarter.

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