THUNDER BAY — The owner of the golf course at the Thunder Bay Country Club hopes the cost of materials falls enough to justify construction of a long-stalled condominium complex in the middle of the property.
Di Gregorio Developments acquired the golf course and the foundations of the 109-unit condo project in 2022.
The planned six-storey development was started in 2012 but never advanced beyond ground level.
After assuming control two years ago, Di Gregorio took steps to ensure the foundation remained protected against the elements while it took a year or two to assess the feasibility of construction.
The company recently has been taking inventory of the materials acquired by the previous owner, including components for the exterior and bearing walls of the structure, which have been sitting on the site for seven or eight years.
"We've repaired them if they needed any repairs, and stored them in a manner where it's like a jigsaw puzzle. You need to know where piece 'X' is when you're erecting. We're trying to organize this, so we know where everything is," said company spokesperson Silvio Di Gregorio.
He said the panels had been well-protected from the elements, and only some of them suffered moisture damage.
"We were surprised the required repairs were not overly excessive," Di Gregorio stated.
But right now, he said, the cost of other materials needed to build the complex is a significant hindrance.
"We're also getting pricing on the precast concrete, the steel, the windows, the roof. Some of the preliminary pricing that we've got this year certainly does not make it logical to construct."
Nonetheless, the company will consider erecting the building shell starting next spring.
"We're going to go back for pricing, giving the manufacturer next winter in their slow time to manufacture the precast, and see if we can get a better price if the prices do come in line."
Di Gregorio said that once the shell is erected, they would "see if the market was reasonable for pricing on all the mechanical/electrical components.
"But as it appears right now, with the capacity that local construction at the [new] Highway 61 jail is absorbing, it will be difficult to make the pricing competitive."
He suggested it could still be a few years before the company can look at finishing the interior of the condos.
While the project remains stalled, the golf course continues to operate for the foreseeable future.
Di Gregorio previously assured that the company intends to maintain the golf course "in some format for a long time," as long as members of Thunder Bay Country Club are in a position to run it.
