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The ‘new Nantucket’ — island community takes shape in the Detroit River
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by Linda Mondoux
TheSyndicatedNews columnist
Linda Mondoux has more than 28 years experience in the word business as a writer and editor, becoming a full-time freelancer in 2007. She has worked for several daily newspapers, most recently with The Ottawa Citizen, where she was a copy editor and a city columnist.
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By Linda Mondoux
A 10-year, $334-million US plan to turn a private island in the Detroit River into a year-round upscale residential community is finally taking shape.
Word is spreading that the ultimate in exclusive living can be found at Bob-Lo Island, the former summer resort and amusement park that attracted fun-seekers on both sides of the Canada-U.S. border for almost a century before the rides were closed down in 1993. “We’re not just selling homes, we’re selling a lifestyle,” said Bill Rohrer, sales director for Bob-Lo Developments Inc., the firm set up by island owner Dominic Amicone’s Amico Group of Companies to develop the 225-acre property.
Located on the Canadian side of the Detroit River, the gateway to Lake Erie, Bob-Lo is just a few minutes away by ferry from Amherstburg, the historic Ontario town whose borders take in the private island, originally named Bois Blanc (white woods) by French missionaries in the 1700s. Rohrer said Bob-Lo’s location — a 45-minute commute from Windsor-Detroit and a four-hour “no traffic” drive from Toronto, Ontario’s capital city — together with its promise of “green” living in relaxed, upscale surroundings, is beginning to pay off.
“We’ve got a good thing going here,” Rohrer said, adding that it’s about a 50-50 split between buyers who are looking for a summer home and those seeking to make a full-time move to the island. Because Bob-Lo is in Canadian waters, American owners use the island as their second homes, spending winters elsewhere.
The Bob-Lo master plan unveiled by Amicone in 2006 for the marina resort community won the ultimate builder award later that year, picking up the Grand Sam honour for best design and marketing of a project in Canada. Along with Amico, the Bob-Lo “dream team” includes Michigan design firms JJR of Ann Arbor and Alexander V. Bogaerts & Associates of Bloomfield Hills, and Gerry Waldron Consulting Ecologists, led by Waldron, the award-winning author and biologist from Amhersburg.
While plans for the gated-style community include plenty of room for monster mansions, there’s also space for smaller, less expensive homes, including apartment-style condominiums. In fact, a piece of island paradise can now be purchased for just under $191,000 US, making the new cottage country — the folks at Bob-Lo liken the island to Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard — affordable to those who might never have an opportunity to buy elsewhere, especially in Onatrio’s Mukoka Lakes district, popular with Hollywood celebrities.
Of course, if custom luxury is what you’re after, the sky is the limit: water lots for custom single-family homes are going for about $381,000 US, without the house.
Harbourview, the condo building that was started but left half-finished when American John Oram — Bob-Lo’s previous owner — went broke, has now been completed by Amicone, the Canadian who gained ownership of the island in bankruptcy court in 2004. Priced between about $191,000 and $477,000 US, 10 of the suites in the 37-unit waterfront building have already been sold. The suites, with private balconies and sunrise views overlooking Lake Erie and Amherstburg, range in size from 1,100 square feet to 1,800 square feet.
Reservations are now being taken for White Caps, a new condo midrise project overlooking the marina. It will boast elegant design featuring 9-foot ceilings and expansive private balconies and terraces with sunrise views. Rohrer said prices will be higher for the new offering, expected to be under construction in the next 12 months if interest remains at today’s steady pace. Prices start at about $334,000 US and rise to just under $955,000 US. To date, about one dozen of the 37 suites — the smallest is 1,500 square feet — have been reserved.
If executive townhomes are more your style, there are five models to choose from, including the 1,712-square-foot Cloverdale, a finalist in the Canadian National Sam Awards for best attached single home. Prices for the towns, the majority of which face inland, start at about $439,000 US and go as high as $667,000 US. Rohrer said sales are “not bad,” but that the interest now is more for “the convenience of condo living.”
Lots for custom single-family homes range from about $144,000 US for an inland site and up to about $381,000 US for the prime waterfront properties. Buyers can choose to hire their own builder, or work with Amicone’s team. Single-family homes range in price from about $573,000 US to a whopping $3.3 million US.
The master plan for the Bob-Lo community calls for 1,300 residential units, along with a 350-slip marina, yacht club, hotel, spa, recreation facilities, village-style retail centre, restaurants, beaches and walking and biking trails and plenty of green space. The old buildings on the island, including the famous dance hall pavilion, opened in 1898, are to be incorporated into the development.
So far, there’s a long way to go before the dream community becomes reality. Of the proposed 1,300 residential units, there are now about 100 on the island. Of that number, Amicone’s team accounts for about half. The other 50 or so were built between 1998 and 2004, when Bob-Lo’s former owner filed for bankruptcy after a family feud. At one point, the private ferry that transports residents to the island was shut down for lack of funds, souring many on the island dream.
Luring potential investors back has not been easy. The key in getting the development plans on track has been Amicone, said Rohrer. As a respected Amherstburg-area builder, he has brought both excitement and calm to the project. “Dominic brought a sense of reassurance to the town,” Rohrer said. It also didn’t hurt that Amicone paid the island’s municipal tax bill owing from the Oram days.
With Year 2 of the 10-year plan now wrapping up, Bob-Lo’s developers must now contend with a changing economy — Michigan especially has been hit hard in the real estate meltdown. This is one reason fewer than 10 per cent of prospective buyers in the past year have been Americans. “With any long-range project, it has a life of its own,” Troy Loop, Bob-Lo’s facilities manager, said of the master plan. While the plan “remains pretty much intact,” what has changed, he said, is the focus.
Several public events scheduled for Bob-Lo beginning last spring — including a grand reopening of the island restaurant and an evening of wine-tasting — have turned the island into a tourist draw faster than expected. That means more people are looking around who could be potential buyers. This, coupled with the fact more people have moved to the island, prompted the developers to focus their energies on expanding and refurbishing public spaces such as the marina, beachfront restaurant and general store, and improving private recreational facilities, including the pool. “That was further down the line, but we made that our focus this year,” Loop said, adding that the Bob-Lo is about creating a lifestyle and a sense of community.
While the marina, restaurant and general store are open to non-residents, visits are restricted to Wednesday to Sunday. If they want to swim at the two beaches, enjoy the day walking or jogging on trails around the perimeter of the island or relaxing with a picnic in one of the island’s many green spaces, they’ll have to put their money down and become a homeowner. “We have to strike a balance between public and private spaces,” said Loop. “We’re a private island that welcomes guests of residents and guests of Bob-Lo.”
The focus for 2009 will be on expanding more facilities and building more townhomes. Rohrer said buyers to date “have been everyone from a single guy in his 30s who’s a skilled tradesman at Chrysler to multinational companies.” While island life is attracting seniors, it is also bringing people with young families.
“You can have the seclusion and tranquility of a Pelee Island, but with all the metropolitan services and amenities you desire just minutes away,” said Rohrer, adding that with two private ferries running on demand year-round from Amherstburg, it’s easy to go to a ballgame in Detroit and be back on the island within an hour.
As part of Bob-Lo’s green living, which will include geothermal heating when the island’s inner core is developed, most residents usually park their cars when they arrive and use golf carts or Segways when they’re not out boating, biking or walking. It’s also easy to get around in winter: Bob-Lo is situated at the same latitude as the northern tip of California, so winters on the island are mild.
For more information about Bob-Lo Island, go to www.boblo.ca or call toll-free, 1-877-222-2126.
Caption info:
1. The gated-style marina community is already home to several impressive single-family homes. Lots for custom single-family homes range from about $144,000 US for an inland site and up to about $381,000 US for the prime waterfront properties. Single-family homes range in price from about $573,000 US to a whopping $3.3 million US.
2. The developer has focused its efforts this year on expanding and and refurbishing Bob-Lo Island’s public spaces such as the marina, beachfront restaurant — shown here — and the general store, and improving private recreational facilities, including the pool.
3. Bob-Lo’s marina has undergone an expansion this summer, and can now accommodate between 90 and 100 pleasure boats. Eventually, the marina will include up to 350 slips.
Published: Aug 27,2008 15:54
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