GORE BAY—Gordon’s Lodge Resort and Conference Centre has been purchased by Manitoulin Transport.
Gord Smith, chief executive officer of Manitoulin Transport, confirmed this past Saturday, “we have bought Gordon’s Lodge.” He explains, “we have never really had much interest in getting into the resort business as this industry has seen a bit of a decline on Manitoulin over the last number of years. It’s a tough business to get into with such a short season.”
“Recently, we have held discussions concerning expansion of our Gore Bay office. The estimated timeline for this expansion might be three to five years,” said Mr. Smith. “It became evident to us that Gordon’s Lodge has a lot of existing space that could be renovated to office space. We have long believed that Gore Bay needs a proper hotel. The two storey building could be renovated to meet that requirement.”
“Going forward, we would renovate the two storey building first, then we would have a few years to transition the lodge to office space,” continued Mr. Smith. “We have no intention of reopening the restaurant. We would anticipate having our final plans for the property put together by late summer, early fall.”
Mr. Smith noted, “my father, Doug Smith, wants our company to continue to invest in Gore Bay, where our main office headquarters are located. This transaction and plan we have for Gordon’s Lodge meets that criteria.”
In July 2016, the Recorder reported that Gordon’s Lodge Resort and Conference Centre was officially up for sale, under a power of sale from the previous owners of the business.
