He's lovin' it: Fort St. John McDonald's owner builds franchise's largest playground in Canada
Facility built as advocates lobby for non-profit indoor playground in community
The owner of the McDonald's in Fort St. John, B.C. has now realized his dream of building the franchise's largest indoor playground in Canada.
"Go big or go home," laughed Brian Boresky who started on the project over a year ago.
"I wanna bring some excitement for the kids."
"[Boresky] pushed us way beyond anything that we've ever done," said Zahara. "When we first designed it, it had two slides and he said, 'no, we need three.'"
"So we designed and redesigned and redesigned some more and redesigned and reconfigured."
Zahara said previous contracts he's had with McDonald's have only taken four weeks to design, while this project took four months, plus more time for construction work.
"He really wanted to provide a 'wow' for his community," Zahara said.
The finished project is just under 950 square feet and nearly three storeys tall.
Boresy said that since Fort St. John has long winters and limited options for indoor activities, he expects his restaurant to become a popular destination.
"It's a business decision, too."
Not-for-profit indoor playground still needed: advocate
Jaandi Roemer agrees that an indoor playground is needed in Fort St. John, but isn't sure McDonald's will fill that need.
Roemer is the president of the North Peace Family Superpark, a non-profit society aimed at building an accessible indoor playground in the northeast B.C. city.
The society's vision is to create an accessible, multi-use park for families and kids to use in the winter months.
"Our community is growing so quickly," she said. "Other communities ... have more than one functional indoor playground. So I don't really see it [McDonald's] as competition."
She said while her kids enjoy the McDonald's playground, she wants something more usable for younger children or those with special needs.
She also wants a facility that is accessible without having to purchase anything.
"I still believe that a multifunctional facility would be great for our community."
With files from Jordan Tucker
To hear Boresky and Zahara speak about their experience building the new playground, click on the audio labeled: 'Meet the men who built Canada's largest McDonald's playground in Fort St. John'
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