TENNESSEE – The Harbour Island property is up for sale due, in part, to the fact that the current pandemic prevents work being carried out on the property. However, Rob Chandler says he is not in a rush to sell the property and is still hopeful that some of the dreams for his property will be realized, including a youth camp being developed.
“I’m in Tennessee and Harbour Island is in Canada, obviously,” stated Mr. Chandler in a recent interview with the Recorder. He confirmed the Harbour Island property is up for sale, “if the right offer comes along.”
With COVID-19 restrictions making travel from the US to Canada prohibitive, “we haven’t been able to do anything with the property and its too expensive to carry.”
“The property has been listed for awhile now,” Mr. Chandler told the Recorder. “I’m not in a rush to sell it. If things change before we sell the property, maybe we can still do something.”
“Things are so difficult with COVID-19 we couldn’t do any work on the property last year. Unless things change we won’t be able to again this year,” said Mr. Chandler, who pointed out right now he can’t even have someone working for him access the island by using the boat launch ramp in Billings Township as the boat launch is closed due to the pandemic.
Mr. Chandler purchased the Harbour Island resort property on the North Channel four years ago. The resort has a glorious past, having been a popular spot years ago for the rich and famous throughout its history.
His grandparents, Grant and Elizabeth Rogers, were the original owners of the property.
It was nearly 75 years to the day of Mr. Rogers’ original purchase of Harbour Island that Mr. Chandler signed his own offer to purchase the property.
Emmett “Sonny” Woods and Mr. Chandler, friends through the Masonic Lodge, partnered on their plans for the Island. They looked at donating the roughly 10 acres of Harbour Island containing the resort building and marina to their charity and with the aim of restoring the resort as close as possible to its original condition through merchandising, donations, loans and grants.
One of their plans included running the resort primarily as an off-grid youth camp for those who struggle to find their way. “We’re still working on this. And if someone buys the property we are still hoping to get the youth camp started on the island,” Mr. Chandler told the Recorder. “We are still hoping if everything gets into place we could get this going by July.”
