Summerlea Golf Club Lachine 1959 - A Time Of Decision
Inexorably the years, some good and some bad, come to an end. So, it was at Summerlea in 1959.
After the fire and rebuilding, hosting the 1953 and 1956 Labatt Opens, living within the budget and planning the future, some definite decisions had to be made whether to remain indefinitely in Lachine. Some of the main problems included:
- Increase in taxes. By 1958 an increase in evaluation of the club property resulted in a huge tax increase: from $5,000 to $20,000 in one year.
- Possibility of expropriation: Lachine was threatening to expropriate a part of the property for the installation of water and sewage pipes for an industrial park. The CPR was looking for land for additional railroad tracks.
- The mortgage: Refinancing to pay off the mortgage.
- Maintenance costs. Costs to maintain the clubhouse, property and equipment would amount to $60,000.
- Surrounding Property: Concerns over vandalism and loss of privacy due to the encroachment of both housing and commercial developments.
A special committee was formed to recommend a course of action for the future of Summerlea.
The results: Ten areas considered had existing golf clubs. They were near the city but would eventually face the same problems as Summerlea was facing. A big worry about an off-island location was a loss of members due to distance. South Shore locations were undesirable as it would mean crossing the Jacques Cartier Bridge. The Champlain bridge had not yet been built.
On Ile Bizard, the location of Royal Montreal and Elmridge, land prices had increased considerably.
Cap St. Jacques appeared to be very favourable but the land costs were prohibitive.
Several other areas were thought to be too flat with no interesting topographical features.
A west-end location looked promising. Situated 2 1/2 miles south of Dorion at Pointe-des-Cascades, on the Montreal to Toronto highway bordering the Soulange Canal. The area was large enough to establish two 18-hole courses with good water access and the price was affordable. With the new Metropolitan highway and the Government announcing two new bridges off the island this site seemed favourable.
In November, 1959, the specially appointed Relocation Committee recommend the following to the Board of Directors:
Sell the Summerlea Golf Club Lachine property to Meadowbrook Development Corporation for the sum of $2,951,625 with occupancy May 1st, 1965.
Purchase a new site at Pointe-des-Cascades comprising 115,786,920 square feet of land for the sum of $500,000 to be developed as the future location for Summerlea Golf Club.
At a special General Meeting on November 25, 1959 the following resolution was passed by a large majority of voting members: That Summerlea Golf and Country Club accept an offer from Hilles Pickens, Loyola Schmidt and Dr. Armand Boisvert for this land. The projected moving date to be sometime between 1961 and 1965.
The massive job of relocation was about to begin.
Marion Dunn