St. Clair Township will consider a $3.5 million reconstruction of the clubhouse at the township owned golf course.
Township staff have been trying to come up with solutions to create more staff and bring the washrooms up to accessibility standards. No matter what they came up with, there was always an issue.
During the pandemic, the number of people using the course along the St. Clair River grew with over 40,000 people using the course. That put a huge strain on the building.
“That makes for one of the busiest golf courses in the province and busiest facilities that the township owns,” Kendall Lindsey, director of community services wrote in a report to council Monday.
“The high activity causes substantial wear and tear on the building.”
Some renovations on the exterior were complete, but the issue of accessible washrooms still loomed large.
Recently Lindsay came up with the idea to build a new kitchen while extensively renovating the current area for more clubhouse space.
“The plan now is to completely remove and rebuild of the bathrooms, and pro shop, and adding an addition for a new kitchen on the north side of the building,” Lindsay says.
With the course making over $200,000 in profit in 2021 and a goal to make $400,000 in the near term, Lindsay says the clubhouse could take out a loan for the anticipated cost of $3.5 million.
While there was some earlier thought to rebuild the entire clubhouse, the director said the estimated $4.5 million cost from 2019 is likely much more now.
Council approved the concept and will considered the idea during budget deliberations.
St. Clair Council gets its first look at the capital budget Thursday.