Sunrise, FL – Pelion, an indoor entertainment destination proposed for construction adjacent to Sawgrass Mills Mall in Sunrise that would feature the largest indoor ski trails in the world, has named Michael Lawrence as President and COO.
With more than 30 years of industry experience, Lawrence joins Pelion with a background in hospitality operations and development management expertise for premier hotels, destination resorts and private clubs at the corporate and property level. He previously served a critical role in the training and development of executive and management talent for the upscale hospitality properties owned and managed by ClubCorp, Interstate Hotels & Resorts, The Boca Raton Resort & Club, and Boca Resorts. He has served as general manager for full-service independent and nationally branded hotels in Washington, D.C. and on Long Island in New York, and also served as GM/COO for the Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Tex., and the Berkeley Hall Club near Hilton Head, S.C.
Pelion is proposed as a fully enclosed indoor snow entertainment destination in Sunrise, Florida featuring ski runs twice the size of those at Ski Dubai in the United Arab Emirates and an immersive theme park experience featuring winter sports and related activities with real snow and ice for thrill seekers, adventurers and families seeking to participate in fun-filled activities year round. Within an iceberg-shaped structure, Pelion patrons will find indoor skiing, snowboarding, tobogganing, sledding, electric snowmobiling, ice skating, half-pipe, moguls, ice wall climbing and more. All of the Pelion Sunrise activities will take place within a controlled climate of 31oF. Pelion designs use natural gas to power all of energy needs as well as making real snow.
As a complete vacation destination, there would be another side of Pelion Sunrise available at comfortable room temperatures, including the largest indoor skate park in America that would feature racing in high-performance electric race karts as well as thrill rides, virtual reality 4D simulations, climbing wall maze, laser tag, paintball and other activities. Pelion Sunrise is also slated to include a full-service 300-room conference hotel. A state-of-the-art, fully robotic parking facility would house more than 2,800 vehicles.
If approved, developers assert that Pelion will bring approximately 3,000 construction jobs to Sunrise and sustain a permanent workforce of 2,000 jobs throughout operations, contributing to economic growth for the City of Sunrise, Broward County and the State of Florida.