A gem with a future
Prospective owner sees potential with Mill River complex
There’s a new, highly visible sign where Route 2 turns onto the Mill Road in Woodstock. It bears just two words – Mill River. There’s no mention of the championship golf course, or any of the other attractions that make up the Mill River Complex. And that’s just the way the prospective owner of the complex wants it. Don McDougall and his MRRI company is, essentially, an owner-in-training. He has a lease agreement with the provincial government to manage its properties for a year with the intention of purchasing them next year. Not wanting to make many changes during the lease, he reasoned, “It would be nice if we could, at least, have a better identification,” he explained.
The sign, so far, is the most noticeable indication of change. He compares Mill River to a golf resort he visits in Florida. The sign there reads Innisbrook, but inside all sorts of attractions await. “We really want Mill River to be a place where you go,” he said. “It’s everything.” While calling it “a gem when it was built 40 years ago,” he admits there is an “infrastructure deficit” that needs to be erased going forward.
The property’s size and its diversity – it includes the Mill River Fun Park, a campground, golf course, resort and aquaplex – piqued his interest. McDougall believes there is potential to develop bike trails throughout the property. The lease agreement does not include the Rodd Resort property but McDougall said his company needs to know what’s happening with that asset.
“Our vision,” said McDougall, “is that Mill River will be the centre for recreation, tourism and wellness in West Prince.” He views the Mill River Complex as having the potential to complement other accommodations throughout the region, by providing their guests with extra things to do so they stay another night or week, or return next year. A Mill River Golf Club member for 10 years and a summer resident of Ebbsfleet for nine, McDougall has been eying the Mill River property since 2012 when the provincial government issued an RFP, seeking to sell its golf course. Negotiations started and stalled and then got back on track last fall.
“I just see it as an asset base that has the potential to be restored to a successful, sustainable business,” he said of the overall property. McDougall, who helped piece together a strategic plan for the Slemon Park Corporation after CFB Summerside closed, suggested there are similarities between what Slemon Park has become and what can happen at Mill River. “It needs a strategy and then it needs a really focused, day-to-day management and capital investment that’s sustainable over time,” he insisted.