Category: Kamloops Real Estate News

This article appeared in the Kamloops this Week on Friday, July 8th, 2011 and was written by Jeremy Deutsch.

As a local group gets organized in an effort to keep Tobiano locally owned, the company that holds all the putters is getting set to put the resort on the market.

The Bowra Group, which was appointed receiver of the golf resort by the courts on June 9, has since been going through the books and putting a package together for sale.

Bowra Group president David Bowra said there has been interest in the resort from  outside of Kamloops and locally, but added demand for recreational property isn’t what it was a few years ago.

“Whether or not it’s [Tobiano] sold or we operate it for the foreseeable future remains to be seen,” he said.

Bowra said the company should have a package ready by next week, followed by a data room for interested groups to view.

A data room typically refers to a monitored site used for a large transaction in which confidential data is being disclosed to bidders.

Bowra said his company will run the resort business as usual and even try to sell lots on the development side of the resort.

“In the meantime, if someone wants to do a deal and comes in with a proposal that we think makes sense, we will recommend it to the courts,” he said.

“It’s going to be up to the courts to decide.”

Word of the resort’s financial woes broke on June 13, after the real-estate side of the resort and golf course were ordered into receivership by a B.C. Supreme Court.

Pagebrook Inc. and Kamlands Holdings Ltd., companies owned by developer Mike Grenier, owe the Bank of Montreal debts totalling roughly $26 million.

A local group called Save Tobiano has come forward with the goal to keep the course locally owned and open to the public.

Bowra said he would like to see a Kamloops group put together a venture to acquire the development, adding it would be good for the community and good for the resort.

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This article appeared in the Kamloops This Week on July 7, 2011 and was written by Jeremy Deutsch.

It’s one of the premier golf destinations in Canada, but financial troubles have left Tobiano with an uncertain future. Now, a group in Kamloops is organizing in an effort to keep the golf course in local hands.

The group, Save Tobiano, has created a website and is looking for feedback and support from the public. Save Tobiano is being led by a Kamloops company called Quantum Business Golf Canada, which is a division of another company, Canada’s Mastermind Development Corporation.

Peter Cameron-Inglis, who is spearheading the group, told KTW the goal is to keep the course locally owned and open to the public. He noted the website savetobiano.ca is also being used as a tool to gather ideas to determine if there is interest in the community with respect to saving the course.

“We want to see it [Tobiano] leveraged for the community and benefit the community,” he said, adding several local businesses have already expressed interest in being a part of Save Tobiano. “It’s a jewel of the golf industry.”

Cameron-Inglis suggested one option could be for a local group to purchase the course or to simply work with the trustees or a new owner. Besides keeping the course locally owned, the group has also listed a few marketing ideas of its own.

One idea is to turn Tobiano into an  international business golf-training centre. That means offering a combination of a golf vacation to business individuals, but at the same time offering business-golf training.

Cameron-Inglis said many local companies, including his own, use the golf course to attract new business.

The group is also proposing a golf water taxi that would link Tobiano to other golf courses in Kamloops by an 18-person river jet boat. The plan would be to pick up passengers and transport them to locations along Kamloops Lake and in town.

Word of the resort’s financial woes broke on June 13, after the real-estate side of the resort and golf course were ordered into receivership by a B.C. Supreme Court judge on June 9.

Pagebrook Inc. and Kamlands Holdings Ltd., which are both companies owned by developer Mike Grenier, owe the Bank of Montreal debts totaling roughly $26 million.

The Bowra Group, which also took control of the troubled Mission Hill development in Kamloops last year, has been appointed receiver of Tobiano. At the time, the company said it intended to continue to operate the resort and golf course, but noted the process was in the early stages and the receiver could sell the resort to a new owner as a whole or sell individual lots.

With little attention, Cameron-Inglis said the website has already attracted more than 100 hits, with the response being all positive. The group is expected to start a larger campaign in the next few weeks, but is first waiting to speak with the trustees handling Tobiano.

CMDC is the company behind Race to a Million, a social-enterprise project promoting business opportunities and entrepreneurialism in the city.

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This article appeared in the Kamloops This Week on June 28, 2011 and was written by Jeremy Deutsch.

It could be said the first year of the Sun Peaks municipality has been more like a cross-country jaunt than a downhill run.

That’s at least how Sun Peaks Mayor Al Raine might describe the year it’s been for the province’s newest municipality. “Unfortunately, people have high expectations that everything is going to happen in a hurry,” said Raine, who added the resort’s politicians have moved “conservatively” and “cautiously.” “It’s a little slower than I’d hoped for.”

It was a history-making day on June 28, 2010, as Sun Peaks officially became the first mountain resort in B.C. and Canada.

About 200 people, including residents and dignitaries, were at the Delta Sun Peaks Resort Hotel last year to watch the resort’s first council and mayor be sworn into office.

Though there were high hopes and expectations at last year’s ceremony, Raine admits the pace of progress for the municipality has been slower than he expected.

The newly formed resort municipality has been busy getting an administration in place and taking over services that were once the responsibility of Thompson-Nicola Regional District.

Sun Peaks, which is separate from Sun Peaks Resort Corporation, although a member of the corporation sits on the village’s council, is responsible for building inspection, emergency services and bylaws, while it will work with the TNRD on planning — specifically completing its official community plan.

The village also contracted out services to hire a bylaw enforcement officer, in part to deal with noise complaints. During the winter months, the municipality received 20 noise complaints.

The municipality is also in good financial shape heading into its second year, carrying a surplus in the first six months and putting $400,000 aside for future road improvements, firefighting equipment and the construction of recreation facilities. “There’s a very positive attitude toward the municipality,” Raine said. But, it hasn’t been all smooth powder for the mountain resort.

A funding application by the municipality for a health- and emergency-service centre was unsuccessful.

Raine noted doctors work part-time out of a small trailer, which he argued doesn’t present the most professional image for a world-class resort. He also hopes the municipality will secure a permanent ambulance based out of the community in the future, which would drop the time it takes to get patients to Royal Inland Hospital by half.

Sun Peaks is also working on another ongoing issue that involves the existence of the municipality itself. Earlier this year, the B.C. Supreme Court ruled the provincial government breached its constitutional duty to consult with the Adams Lake Indian Band with respect to the incorporation of Sun Peaks as a resort municipality. But, the court did not set aside the village’s incorporation, and instead ordered the province to engage in further consultation withe band.

At the time, Raine suggested that if the three sides just started meeting on a regular basis there would be some “very fruitful outcomes. The mayor appears to be backing up his words, as the municipality and the band are in the process of establishing a community-to-community forum. Raine hopes to improve the conversation and dialogue with bands around Sun Peaks.

In the meantime, the resort continues to post positive numbers at a time when tourism in the province continues to struggle. The number of room nights at the resort grew by 3.5 per cent last year, which reflected an increase in the summer guests and a slight drop in the winter.

Australia remains the leading oversees destination for Sun Peaks, while visitors from B.C. represent 59 per cent of the resort’s winter market. That’s also an increase over the past few years.

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This article was written by Jeremy Deutsch of Kamloops This Week on June 14th, 2011.

As the future of Tobiano Resort is sorted out after falling into receivership last week, a picture of what it was like behind the scenes at the resort is emerging.

Dave Behnsen was the guest-services manager at Tobiano until recently and recalled how staff cuts last season hurt employee morale at the golf course. He said the “bare bones” staff levels led to him working 55 hours a week without any thanks from Michael Grenier, the  head of the Tobiano development. “Not once did Mike come to me and say I really appreciate the extra effort,” Behnsen told KTW.

He believes a change in ownership will be well-received by employees and ultimately be good for the future of the resort. “I think it’s a great thing and the future of Tobiano is bright,” Behnsen said, adding the golf course is too good not to succeed.

Word of the resort’s financial woes broke on Monday, June 13, after the real-estate side of the resort and golf course were ordered into receivership by the B.C. Supreme Court on June 9.

Pagebrook Inc. and Kamlands Holdings Ltd., which are both companies owned by Grenier, owe the Bank of Montreal debts totaling roughly $26 million.

The Bowra Group, which also took control of the troubled Mission Hill development in Kamloops last year, has been appointed receiver of Tobiano.

Grenier wouldn’t speculate on his future with the resort, but told KTW he was proud of what the development has accomplished — especially the golf course — in the three years since it opened. “I think it’s the finest resort project in Western Canada,” he said, specifically noting the hard work done by employees at the development.

Though the golf course has received several accolades in its short history, Grenier couldn’t make a go of the resort.

The developer blames two factors for Tobiano’s financial situation: The global economic downturn and the resort’s failure to secure funding for its planned marina.

The banks passed on financing the marina, while a pair of applications to the federal and provincial governments for grant funding was rejected. “They did not allow us to advance the marina, which would have been the next logical step in this successful project,” Grenier said.

Despite the financial turmoil, it’s expected to be business as usual for the golf course and residents living at Tobiano. Douglas Chivers, a representative with the Bowra Group, said the company intends to continue to operate the resort and golf course. “It’s in no way shut down,” he said.

Though Chivers couldn’t give specific details on the future of Tobiano, noting the process is still in its early stages, he said the receiver could sell the resort to a new owner as a whole or sell individual lots. “There’s a lot of options and possibilities,” he said.

Chivers noted it’s the court-ordered receiver’s role to take possession of the assets in an effort to operate, assess and recover those assets to repay creditors. He also pointed out the resort isn’t technically in bankruptcy, noting the court appointment was facilitated by the application of its secured creditors.

Bankruptcy involves a different set of laws.

As the court-appointed receiver works out the resort’s financial troubles, the local tourism industry is pulling for the golf course to succeed.

Tourism Kamloops CEO Lee Morris was surprised to learn the resort was in financial trouble, but is pleased to hear the golf course will remain open. She said Tobiano is very important to the overall golf product in Kamloops, noting the resort has been a factor in getting consumers to come to the area. “I think it really helped take us to the next level as a golf destination,” she said.

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