The fate of Sunny Cove remains undecided after Fort Frances Town Council walked back its decision to sell the former children’s camp and directed administration to look again at costs associated with its rehabilitation.
Although it was founded by the Kiwanis Club of Fort Frances, Sunny Cove was sold to the town in 2009 for $1, with the town agreeing to continue its primary function as a children’s camp. The camp closed during the COVID-19 Pandemic and did not reopen due to structural issues found in several buildings.
The initial plan was to renovate and repair the camp’s aging infrastructure, bringing back to life the now-derelict cabins. This changed after the Kiwanis Club approached the town with the idea to sell, but with a caveat in the deal that whoever buys it must commit to maintaining its primary function as a camp for children.
In December 2025, town council voted to move ahead with the sale, with proceeds going back to the Kiwanis Club. This was expected to take less than six months. In May, the deadline for expressions of interest to buy the camp was extended to June 22. Just weeks later, this changed, and council opted to revisit the initial plan of rehabilitating Sunny Cove.
“It’s basically just doing a 180,” Town Chief Administrative Officer Marcel Michaels told The Times. “We were going to fix it, then decided we’ll sell it. Now, we’re back to not wanting to sell it, and a report will be coming to council to more than likely select an option to rehabilitate it and direct us to look at how we would operate it. We’re back to square one.”
The original rehabilitation plan involved repairing and renovating the central hub of Sunny Cove, Russell Hall, and clearing out bunkhouses considered beyond repair to start building updated accommodations. That plan is open to being restructured once council receives the report from administration.
“They haven’t decided to do anything else until the report comes in this August,” Michaels said. “Then they’ll give us direction on what to do with that piece of property outside of selling it.”
The report, expected Aug. 10, will give a more detailed view of costs associated with rehabilitation, demolition of old cabins and construction of new buildings. The report will also give insight on how the camp can function and operate when usable again, according to Coun. Wendy Brunetta.
“They’ll look at costs, and they’ll look at what exactly we’ll be able to do with the property,” Brunetta said.
Brunetta said town had previously been approved for a $495,000 grant from the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund (NOHFC) to rehabilitate the camp but ended up having to return the funds when it opted to sell the property. If the town chooses again to move forward with repairs, it will likely reapply for the grant.
Although the current council is revisiting the plan, the next council will not be locked into the decision if they feel costs are too high. When a new term starts following elections in October, council will have the option to vote against moving forward with fixing the camp.
“Once you have a new council, you basically have a clean slate,” Michaels said. “Right now, there’s really no action; they chose not to sell it and get a report. Things will be so early in the process that the next council will have the ability to literally just vote without a motion to reconsider on these things.”
