Aspotogan Sea Spa

Former names| Sea Spa Nova Scotia
General information
Status| Demolished
Location| Aspotogan Peninsula, Nova Scotia
Coordinates| 44°30′38″N 64°01′01″W﻿ / ﻿44.5105°N 64.0169°W﻿ / 44.5105; -64.0169
Construction started| 1992
Demolished| 2016
Technical details
Floor count| 5
Floor area| 16,300 square metres (175,000 sq ft)
Lifts/elevators| 2
Design and construction
Architecture firm| Sperry and Associates
Other information
Number of rooms| 131

The Aspotogan Sea Spa was a luxury hotel development at the tip of the Aspotogan Peninsula, Nova Scotia, Canada. Construction was aborted in the mid-1990s when the developer ran out of money, leaving the hulking hotel building sitting abandoned for two decades until it was demolished in 2016.

## History

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The Sea Spa Nova Scotia, as it was called when first marketed in 1990, was privately financed by German siblings Brigitta Hennig and Wolfgang Spiegelhauer of the construction company Suwobau.[1] The two stated that they were "deeply impressed by the beauty of the land" and conceived the 131-room, five-storey, 16,300 square metres (175,000 sq ft) luxury resort to be developed at an estimated cost of C$37.5 million on a site of more than 120 hectares.[1] They predicted that Europeans would flock to the hotel to enjoy a range of stress-relieving activities including seashore walks, bodybuilding, underwater massage, electrical therapy, and electro-galvanic and carbon-dioxide baths.[2] The hotel was to feature an indoor saltwater pool, special air-filtration systems, and the use of non-toxic construction materials.[3] The project received $10,000 from the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency to assist in marketing.[2] The spa was a welcome development in an area hit by the decline of the fishing industry, and was expected to employ up to 200 people.

Construction began in 1992.[4] In 1994, after the hotel structure was substantially complete and weather-tight, the developers ran out of money and couldn't secure additional financing after sinking more than $20 million into the project.[5] One of their partners had dropped out of the project, and the value of their assets in Germany had reportedly depreciated following the reunification of that country.[2] The collapse of the project left many contractors unpaid, putting some smaller companies out of business.[2] In late 1996 creditors forced a foreclosure sale to two Halifax developers, Jim Spatz and George Armoyan, for a mere $505,759.[5]

Spatz and Armoyan tried for years, to no avail, to resell the development to a hotel company.[4] In a 2015 interview, Spatz stated that as the building aged they felt it became less and less likely that it would ever be completed, so they decided to demolish it.[4] Demolition began in late 2015.[4] The site will be subdivided into private residential lots.[6]

## References

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1. ^ a b "German entrepreneurs hope tourists will love Nova Scotia". Toronto Star. 8 November 1993. p. C2.
2. ^ a b c d Cox, Kevin (23 December 1996). "Halifax Spa creditors taking a bath in red ink". The Globe and Mail. p. A2.
3. ^ Gougeon, Katherine (30 May 1995). "New kid on the medical block". The Globe and Mail. p. A15.
4. ^ a b c d Webster, Evan (8 September 2015). "Demolition of abandoned Aspotogan luxury resort begins". Halifax Chronicle-Herald.
5. ^ a b Cox, Kevin (24 February 1997). "Halifax Construction empire takes over planned spa". The Globe and Mail. p. A2.
6. ^ "Abandoned Aspotogan Sea Spa razed after sitting empty for decades". Halifax Chronicle-Herald. Canadian Press. 29 January 2016.