Feature Article December 4, 2002
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Frontenac Centre
The so-called Concept Study stage of the Frontenac Centre resort proposal is moving towards completion, and proponents Brian Ritchie and Kathy Wood presented a status report on the proposal to Central Frontenac Council last week.
Kathy Wood, who has been hired as a consultant to look at the feasibility of the proposed four-season, four star resort with a wilderness and fine arts focus, told council that the process of determining the financial feasibility of this project is crucial, and we are only part way through this process.
She said that the comparable and competitive analysis that has been undertaken has shown them there really is a niche in the marketplace for the Frontenac Centre.
The Frontenac Centre proposal, as it stands, calls for the building of a 50-room lodge in a wilderness setting. The lodge will also include lodgings and studio space for a number of artists who will live on the site for one year sessions.
Wood said that a call for locations that went out in October has yielded eight or nine interesting possibilities. Its fair to say that we havent found the perfect site, but we have found a couple of sites that have lots of potential, she said. Given the time frames that are being looked at, Wood said it is important to wait until the time comes when a land purchase is actually being contemplated before making a final decision as to the location of the resort.
The marketplace is highly volatile, she said, so we will must keep our eyes open for other possibilities. We will also have to consider the cost of the land.
The Centre could be located in Central or North Frontenac, and both townships have contributed to the concept study that has been undertaken.
As far as what is planned in terms of buildings on the site, Wood told council that a total of 80,000 square feet of total building construction is contemplated. In terms of cost, she told council that the contemplated budget for the project, including land purchase, construction, and possible road improvements costs is about $300 per square foot, or $24 million. [To put the size of the project into context, the entire amount of construction in Central Frontenac over the past six years totals around $23 million]
Wood projects that 58 jobs will be created for the construction phase of the project, and projects 168 jobs in the facility and from spin offs once the Centre is up and running.
Other work done on the project has been devoted to determining if there is a ready market for such a resort. The Ottawa market is critical to this, according to Wood, because Ottawa contains the demographic market envisioned for the facility. It really only takes a .7% penetration into that marketplace to meet our targets, Wood said.
There are some major question marks left before this project proceeds any further, and Wood acknowledged as much to council. The key question is: can we find the financing? she said.
On this point, deputy mayor Jack Nicolson questioned Wood on whether the resort was being planned as a non-profit corporation, as had been intimated earlier. If so, whos going to cover the inevitable losses that will occur, Nicolson asked.
Our sense is that the arts programs would be run as a non-profit, but the resort itself would be run under contract with a for profit corporation, Wood responded.
So who will cover the losses in the arts component? Nicolson countered.
The amount of programming will be dependant on available funding, so things would have to be curtailed rather than losing money, Wood replied.
A public meeting on the current status of the Frontenac Centre proposal is scheduled for December 10, at 7:00 pm in the cafeteria of the Sharbot Lake High School.
