After more than two years, three crowdfunding campaigns and growing outcry from backers, the Glacier property slated for controversial luxury vacation domes is for sale.
The Oculis Lodge site was listed Tuesday on real estate website Redfin with a $725,000 asking price. The listing refers to the property as “commercially zoned land, suited for outdoor hospitality.” It notes the dome on the site, around 700 square feet, could be “a private getaway” or a source of rental income.
Developer Youri Benoiston informed backers in an email he was shutting down the Oculis project, citing personal attacks, media misinformation and “coordinated efforts” to obstruct the development. He wrote the project team would “evaluate next steps” for refunds after the sale and would continue honoring reservations until the property changed hands.
In 2022, Benoiston raised more than $1.2 million on Indiegogo for the Oculis Lodge development after a failed crowdfunding effort the previous year. He advertised the proposed project as a wilderness getaway with 35 domes in which visitors could sleep under the stars.
Only one of the promised 35 domes has been built on Benoiston’s 2.16-acre property so far. The Indiegogo campaign is now flooded with comments from backers asking for refunds or communication about the project.
In January, Benoiston started a new fundraising campaign on real estate investing platform Small Change with another $1.2 million goal. The original plan for 35 domes shrunk to seven, according to the new crowdfunding page.
The Small Change campaign page was still online but not accepting money, as of Wednesday, March 19. Eleven people had invested $61,500 in the project, well short of Benoiston’s $150,000 minimum goal. It is unclear whether investors are released from their commitment automatically if the project doesn’t hit the minimum threshold, but a document on the project page says investors will have until April 28 to cancel their contributions.
The Redfin listing says the existing dome has a 15-foot-wide skylight and a deck, jacuzzi, sauna and fire pit outside.
“Concept plans available for sale separately,” the listing reads, adding the plans include “the development of 6 more units.”
It says the septic and water systems are approved for development.
Benoiston did not immediately respond to requests for comment by phone and email.
In his email to backers, Benoiston said people had shown up at the property to harass and intimidate him and his team, “even going as far as yelling racist threats.” The team also faced “overwhelming and deeply disheartening” hostility on social media, he wrote.
He also complained of “misleading and inaccurate media coverage,” saying outlets reported stories without visiting the dome or verifying facts.
The team is pursuing legal action for defamation and libel, Benoiston wrote. He added a coordinated group of people have been working to impede the development’s progress by contacting government agencies and spreading misinformation.
“Their relentless actions fueled uncertainty, making it increasingly difficult to secure and maintain financial backing,” he wrote in the email obtained by Cascadia Daily News.
The team had to withdraw their “SEC-regulated capital raise” — presumably the Small Change fundraiser — due to the group discouraging investors from supporting the project, he continued. “That was the final blow, making it clear that no matter what we did, we would remain under constant attack.”
A real estate broker at Keller Williams Realty Portland Premiere, who listed the site for sale on Redfin, directed CDN to a co-broker for the property. That broker could not be immediately reached for comment.
In February, county spokesperson Jed Holmes wrote in an email that the property was permitted for one single-family residence. Benoiston submitted a site plan for six additional units in July 2024, but that application has since expired after he did not respond to a notice of additional requirements, Holmes wrote.
Whatcom County records show the property is zoned as a “resort commercial district.”
On Wednesday, Holmes told CDN the site’s septic application was still pending approval. The health department has not received evidence the property has access to public water, he said, which was one of the county’s conditions for approving the septic application. He added it was possible Benoiston had gotten public water service for the site without informing the health department.
On Indiegogo, one backer drew a line in the sand.
“I’d like to make it clear that if the funds from the sale of the property are not used to provide me a refund,” he wrote, “that I will be filing a small claims court complaint and will be happy to assist every backer in doing the same.”
Benoiston closed his email to backers on a positive note.
“Despite these setbacks, I remain incredibly grateful to those who believed in this vision and supported us along the way,” he wrote. “Your encouragement and enthusiasm meant the world to us, and I sincerely appreciate the trust you placed in this project.”
Sophia Gates covers rural Whatcom and Skagit counties. She is a Washington State Murrow Fellow whose work is underwritten by taxpayers and available outside CDN's paywall. Reach her at sophiagates@cascadiadaily.com; 360-922-3090 ext. 131.
