Corner Brook -
While the shroud of uncertainty has lifted with the announcement Humber Valley Resort's assets have been sold to a locally led consortium, the chair of the property owners group says there is still much work to be done to realize the dream they bought into.
Mike Ward, chair of the Humber Valley Resort Owners Association, said it has been "a difficult and financially distressing time" for chalet owners since the resort plunged into bankruptcy in December 2008.
"We all need to not underestimate the enormity of the task ahead as Humber Valley Resort made significant losses over the years," Ward said in an emailed statement to The Western Star. "It is now a totally different proposition which should be focused on operations, rather than on land sales. Many owners have negative equity and this, combined with minimal rental income, the strength of the Canadian dollar and now Revenue Canada assessing tax on chalets, is a difficult short-term position."
The resort's assets have been bought by a local group that includes Noton Enterprises Limited, a numbered company called 61839 Newfoundland and Labrador Limited and Oke Consultants Limited.
Ward said the owners are happy to see the new owners - which include Graham and Katie Watton and Gary Oke - have embraced the resort concept and are not intending to simply turn the area into just an upscale residential development. Katie Watton said the group has plans to look into the possibility of a hotel being built at the resort, which also includes a spectacular 18-hole golf course which was managed by Oke last summer on behalf of the trustee in bankruptcy.
"It is positive too that they have stated to make local owners welcome - the original owners always argued that acceptance by the local community should be the foundation stone to the success of the resort," said Ward. "Without this support, the golf course would have made significant losses during bankruptcy and, without doubt, Gary Oke did an excellent job in 2009 in very difficult conditions."
The owners association and the consortium's representatives will be meeting in the coming weeks to discuss how the resort's operation will proceed from here.
"Clearly, for this resort to be successful, we all have to work together and we enter these discussions with a positive outlook," Ward said. "We wish them luck for the benefit of all in the local community, themselves, the government and the chalet owners."
As for government, Ward urged the province to invest more money in promoting western Newfoundland as a tourism destination, which would help the vacation accommodations aspect of Humber Valley Resort.
"The government too has a responsibility to market Newfoundland internationally to increase tourism numbers to the area," he said. "The budget allocated to tourism, whilst doubled since 2003, is insufficient when compared to countries such as New Zealand, who have an established, sustainable tourist market."
Positive impact
Meanwhile, the Greater Corner Brook Board of Trade is looking forward to a positive impact on the local economy as the resort goes about getting back on its feet. In fact, Watton's statement during last Friday's press conference referenced the creation of between 30 and 40 jobs at the resort in the near future.
"We're excited about the local ownership," said Mel Woodman, the board of trade's president. "These people have businesses and have had businesses in the past in the local area, so they are familiar with some of the concerns some of the people from away might not have."
While a hotel would help the area attract larger conventions and conferences, Woodman said it might be too early to get excited about that development just yet.
"It would be a positive, but it's not something we're necessarily factoring into the equation right now," said Woodman.
Corner Brook Mayor Neville Greeley is also looking forward to the resort moving forward under local ownership.
"With the uncertainty that had been surrounding it came some fears and many of those fears were overstated," said the mayor. "Now that they have some solid ownership and plans for the future, it can only mean good things."
Since the resort went bankrupt, there was some talk about the owners striking a deal with a local municipality to provide services. The consortium said it is not interested in any such arrangements and Greeley is fine with that too.
"From our perspective, a resort should be able to operate and function as a stand-alone entity," said Greeley.
