Woodloch spa becoming reality

$27 million complex planned

By DAVID HULSE

LACKAWAXEN, PA — More than three years after they first aired their plans before township officials, developers now say a Woodloch Spa envisioned on a 70-acre tract off Route 590 in Lackawaxen Township could be breaking ground early next year.

Woodloch Pines owner John Kiesendahl led the follow-up presentation of plans before the township supervisors on October 15.

Estimated at $20 to $25 million in 2000, development costs for the spa were placed at $27 million last week. The project would provide up to 200 new jobs, many of them high-end therapist and trainer positions.

Supervisors chair Brian Stuart was pleased.

“It was nice to see a business attempting an environmentally sustainable development while providing high paying jobs and not impacting anyone around it.”

The project would also bring implementation of a spray irrigation sewage elimination system envisioned 12 years ago with development of the golf course at neighboring Woodloch Springs, Stuart said. “It’s going to eliminate one more point-source for possible water pollution and I’m looking forward to it,” he added.

The project is described as a laid-back alternative to busy Woodloch Pines where stressed-out clientele could unwind.

Plans set the 60-room spa well back off the highway, surrounded by manicured gardens and trails. The spa buildings would feature an all-season pool, salons devoted to varied exercise regimens, plus large greenhouse, patio and dining areas. The project was described as having no equal in the Middle Atlantic states.

The project needs one more local approval, a variance. Plans for the spa provide a mean building height of 40 feet, five feet higher than township zoning provides.

In other business last week, the supervisors scheduled a hearing for a five-acre addition to the Woodloch Springs project. The new acreage would replace required green spaces that have been taken up by the addition of decks and other accessory structures on the 402-lot development.