300 kids snap up Lookout Playground spots

The callout for youth to test the new Lookout Playground at Sky Ranch, just north of Cochrane, has proven popular, with JL Developments adding 200 spots after the original 100 filled up immediately. The extra spaces were snapped up just as quickly.

That means 300 young playground testers will get the chance to be among the first to climb, slide, swing and explore the new playground on Aug. 27.

The children, ages two to 13, will put Alberta’s first Volo Aire climbing tower through its paces, then provide feedback directly to Jesse LaFrance, CEO of JL Developments.

“We can design the park and choose the amenities, but ultimately, kids decide whether a playground is great,” LaFrance said. “If they leave The Lookout asking their parents when they can come back, we’ll know we got it right.”

The three-storey Volo Aire is a net-based climbing structure designed to encourage children to explore and create their own routes through the equipment.

The Lookout is only the second Canadian site to feature the structure, following its debut at Yorkson Community Park in Langley, B.C., earlier this year.

Image supplied/JL Developments

Young testers won’t be limited to a single route through the tower. The Volo Aire features a spiral tube slide, straight slide, net crossing, interior cargo-net climb and exterior tower scramble.

The playground also features Alberta’s tallest fully accessible playground slide, with a 20-foot-high ride from the top of the three-storey tower.

That variety is exactly what JL Developments hopes will make the testing event useful, giving children the opportunity to determine whether The Lookout lives up to its name.

The Playground Tester event will run from 1 to 3 p.m. on Aug. 27 and will include a Teddy Bear Picnic. Participants will receive an official Playground Expert Badge, drawstring bag and special teddy bear.

The Lookout is part of Sky Ranch, a 118-acre master-planned community in the Cochrane Lake Hamlet, about 2.5 kilometres north of Cochrane.

Once complete, Sky Ranch is planned to include 646 homes across seven housing types.