BELLINGHAM — A luxury glamping resort proposed in Whatcom County is progressing despite almost two years of permitting delays and increasing concern from the project’s backers.
The Oculis Lodge was branded as the “ultimate luxury lodging in the Cascade mountains,” to be built on a 2.16-acre parcel in Glacier, at the base of Mount Baker.
The project’s founder, Youri Benoiston, initially anticipated the project to be complete in early 2024 with about 30 700-square-foot, private dome structures.
Halfway through 2024, one of the domes is complete. On July 16, publically available documents show Benoiston submitted a Site Plan Review Application to Whatcom County to gain approval for the second phase of the project’s development — the construction of six additional domes on site.
That application will be reviewed by Planning and Development Services, which may request additional information or require action by the developer before approving the project. That process can take months and precedes a request for building permits.
On May 9, Benoiston also requested a permit from the County to build an on-site sewage system to support the additional units, documents show.
This progress comes after increasing frustration grew among many of the project’s more than 1,700 backers, who helped fund the project with more than $1.2 million through an Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign that ended in December 2022, earning the project the title of “most funded lodging in Indiegogo history,” according to the Indiegogo website.
After a year of delays and no scheduled reservations at the lodge, many backers had requested refunds, a request that Benoiston previously denied as the funds were “actively contributing to the creation of the lodge,” Benoiston told backers.
Backers were guaranteed priority reservations at the lodge by investing in the project, many of which are finally being honored according to a recent update posted by Benoiston to the project’s Indiegogo page.
“We are thrilled to announce that we have received our FINAL OCCUPANCY PERMIT yesterday and will be hosting our first guests in the coming weeks,” Benoiston wrote to backers in an update on June 14.
Benoiston also acknowledged the backers who had requested refunds.
“Also, we’re currently exploring expedited options to accommodate the few who wish to exit and seek reimbursement. We will update you as soon as we know more,” the update said.
Benoiston notified backers of possible opportunities to invest further in the project and said he is “progressing towards establishing a real estate fund to finance additional sites, aiming to eventually establish an OCULIS franchise!”
“Currently, we have tens of thousands of individuals eager to book a stay with us and hundreds looking to purchase domes,” the update said.
