Condo's & Hotel Move One Step Closer at Prince Arthur's Landing
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Condo's & Hotel Move One Step


Condo’s & Hotel Move One Step Closer at Prince Arthur’s Landing


 by Scott A. Sumner

   April 12th, 2012 was an important day for the private sector developers of Prince Arthur’s Landing as they became the legal owners of the land they require to build a 4 star hotel and 2 condominium buildings.
    “  We are very excited to be here today. it has been a process of 4 years and we are very excited to have the land transfer today. The land transfer means we can start to deal with it on a residential, commercial and hotel basis. We have enough land to do 2 condominium projects and a hotel. We have the flexibility to do either first but our choice would be to build both the hotel and condominium project at the same time. The market will  determine the project timing,” said
Gisele MacDonald. President of Resolve Group Inc.

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    “ On the condominium side there is a pent up demand  for about 80 and we are building 51. We can’t market the condos until we finalize the final condo plans with the government agency. There is room for 2 or 3 developers to build condominium projects in Thunder Bay . Our location on the waterfront will make our project stand out. If you want the lifestyle of having some synergy and living around people on the waterfront you will prefer there.” said MacDonald.
   “ I can assure you the hotel project is coming just like I can assure you the condos are coming. I hate to give time lines but our goal is to have an announcement on both the condo and hotel by the end of June 2012.   The reason for our hold up is we had some contamination on the site and it took longer for the city to have that work completed and then there was the certify cation of getting that work done. That is normal development process and the problem when giving out a time line.
If everything goes well you can meet that time line but if something comes up it it difficult to reach the timeline.” said MacDonald.
   “ From the day we start construction we a re looking at 16 to 18 months to completion depending on the dates we go in the ground. I just signed about 92 documents and there are many restrictions but none that are too onerous that we can abide by. This is our business and we have
done it for years.” said MacDonald who indicated her company has  a two year period  from today in which to start construction on the project.  she noted the project is financed through their company and the bank.
   “ I am really excited that his day has finally come. I think we have a real committed group working on the project and we have millions of dollars into the project. Our team is staying all over the city because we couldn’t get rooms in the same hotel as they are booked. We have engaged CBRE out of Toronto  to do a hotel feasibility study here in Thunder Bay and the study came back very positive. That’s why we have been able to work with the hotel chains. We hope sometime in June to be able to announce the hotel. We are working with more than one hotel group but are further along with one group.: said MacDonald.” Our first step is to go back to Winnipeg and put our package together for the Ontario Condominium body and they must approve it. That is the final
stage  before we can begin to market the project.”
    “ Everyone has made us very welcome here. Today we were at the waterfront site and I am proud to say Thunder Bay will be my second home. My partners believe in the project and I would like to thank them for their support.   We believe we have the best development at the best price point in Thunder Bay. In the next 4 to 5 weeks we hope to open the presentation centre and go to market with the condominiums. Today I am giving my commitment we will contact the existing clients who have expressed interest first. The Sleeping Giant Awakens today!” smiles Gisele MacDonald.

   “  It is an exciting day today welcoming our partners from the Resolve Group. I would like to thank everyone for their efforts especially Tim Commisso who made many trips to Winnipeg. This project is helping to build our community and will contribute to the downtown revitalization of our north core.” said Mayor Keith Hobbs.

   “ The details involved were emmense and everyone who touched this project need to be thanked. We wanted commercial, residential and recreation on the development. Last December we reopened the park to the public and today is an equally important milestone with the
transfer of the lands. They can commence the private component of the project and invest upwards of $60 million in our community which is a good thing for our community.” said  Councilor Mark Bentz of Waterfront Committee. “   We found our private sector partners in 2008 and in 2011
we had our substantial completion. We needed our private sector partner from the beginning or we wouldn’t have got the infrastructure funding.”
 



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