Torrential rain may have put a damper on construction of the River Walk Condominium project on Front Street here, but delays aren’t expected to push back the moving day for anxious residents.
“They are about 20 percent into the construction phase,” Fort Frances CAO Bill Naturkach said Tuesday.
The Fort Frances Non-Profit Housing Inc. met last week with Penn-co Construction Corp. to get an update on how construction on the 32-unit complex is progressing.
“We lost a week. We are almost one week back due to the storm,” Naturkach noted.
Construction crews had to deal with extra water in the fully-formed foundation but Naturkach admitted things could have been a lot worse.
“There was no effective storm damage on the project site other than the lack of ability to work during the storm,” he said.
Naturkach isn’t too worried this latest delay—one of many the project has faced since its inception well over a year ago—will push back the moving day slated for this winter.
“A week can be made up over the next several months. We still target completion by December,” he said.
Only about 20 of the 32 units in the complex have been sold so far but a number of people have come forward since construction began to express interest.
“We’ve had a number of inquiries,” Naturkach said. “We anticipate as the project gets closer and closer [to completion], people will be able to see what they are purchasing.”
Naturkach said it is understandable potential condo owners are weary of signing cheques for the roughly $150,000 units before they can see the finished product.
“This is not the usual way people buy things,” he noted.
Once construction nears completion, a display suite will be completed so interested buyers can check out just what their new home would look like.
Naturkach added a more intense marketing campaign to sell the final units also would begin at that time.
