Duane Hicks
The developer of the proposed La Verendrye Parkway Village condominium here is hopeful work will start on the project this summer.
During an open house at the Civic Centre yesterday evening, Thunder Bay developer Robert Zanette said he’s looking to have at least 15 of the 23 units pre-sold so construction can begin.
As of last night, eight have been reserved.
If all goes to plan, Zanette said work would start no later than July.
“We’ve pushed into August before, but we’ve got a lot of concrete work and we don’t want to get pushed into wintertime with the concrete work,” he noted.
“We’ve started in Thunder Bay as late as September-October, but I don’t think we’d do that here, so July-August would be the latest that we’d start.”
The new condo project first had been talked about in 2008, with an open house last held in May, 2009.
But the project has gained a new head of steam.
“We’ve kind of rebuilt our team,” Zanette said. “We’ve got the local contractor [Ed Kaun & Sons] all set up, we’ve made all our final selections, we’ve added Kathy [Judson] from Re/Max.
“As the article in the paper [March 2 edition of the Times] indicated, I just got overwhelmed in Thunder Bay, so we’re restarting and hoping to get going by summertime,” he added.
Judson called yesterday’s open house a success, seeing about 40 people come by between 5-8:30 p.m.
“It was really, really excellent,” she enthused, adding the number of units pre-sold rose from six to eight at the open house.
“We had quite a number of reservations last night,” Judson noted. “We probably have another four-six that are going to call back and get a little more information.
“I haven’t got a whole bunch left on the river side,” she added. “I think there’s maybe five units left on the river side.”
Judson also said she was interested to see people representing a wide range of ages looking at buying condos.
“Living in a condominium is a lifestyle change . . . so we’re getting a lot of interest from young people, as well as people who are looking at retirement and beyond.”
Judson felt having the marketing local and building contractor be local is a benefit, as well.
“We’ve still got all the expertise of Robert and his team around, but we’ve got the local element here with myself and [Ed Kaun & Sons], and I think that will help push it along,” she reasoned.
“And I think Fort Frances is ready for it now.”
The three-floor condo is proposed to be built on a riverfront lot at Front Street and Mosher Avenue.
The two- and three-bedroom units are estimated to cost between $189,000 and $259,000.
Those wanting more information about the new condo project are encouraged to contact Judson at 275-5633 or via e-mail at kathyjud@aol.com
