DEVELOPMENT
Rodney Colbourne talks about about The Lakes and plans for future development at the location.
BEN EOIN – The official grand opening of The Lakes Golf Club and Resort in Ben Eoin will take place this weekend.
The Cape Breton Post had the opportunity Friday to speak with Rodney Colbourne, a shareholder in the Ben Eoin Development Group Ltd., about the course and plans for future development at the location.
Q 1: Tell us a little bit about The Lakes Golf Club course.
A1: The course came about years ago when a group of local people wanted to get together to build a course and at that point it was thought about being built in a different location and then this location came up.
A group of shareholders, approximately 130, got together and raised the funds along with the government funds to build the course. It opened in August 2009 – it’s a Graham Cooke design and the course is a parkland-style course.
We’ve had very little damage through the winters and basically no temporary greens when we came to operation in the spring. The majority of the feedback is very positive, especially around the condition of the greens.
Q 2: What are some of the things you’ve developed as part of The Lakes Golf Club and Resort?
A2: We’re envisioning a four-seasons resort and one of the main draws is The Lakes Golf Club, but we also have the ski hill and marina along with junior sailing going on at the marina and we have junior golf taking place as well.
The ski hill is going to be a big draw for us in the winter months.
We have the addition of the Founders Restaurant and the 5,000-square-foot event space, so we’re going to see a lot of corporate events, we’re booked up for weddings, so we see this as a destination for four seasons. We don’t see it just as a golf course anymore.
Q 3: What’s next for development at The Lakes Golf Club and Resort?
A3: We see a four-seasons resort with the assets that we have put together in conjunction with the ski hill and the marina.
The first phase featured the event space, Founders Restaurant and the addition of 12 new two-bedroom chalets.
Now we’re looking at phase two with additional accommodations around the clubhouse and around the chalets. We’re going to bring in an architect to advise on the next development, whether it would be chalets or a condo.
In that review, we’re going to look at possible development at the marina. We’re also looking at the addition of an indoor swimming pool, tennis courts and outdoor recreation to make it more of a destination where people can come golf, junior sail, ski or just come and relax.
Watch for more coverage on Monday.