Yahoo Finance Windsor's Fogolar Furlan club puts portion of land on the market
The Fogolar Furlan club in Windsor has put up the for sale sign on about four hectares of its property, which it says is partly due to a loss in revenue created by the pandemic.
The portion of land, located at 1800 North Service Rd. E., stretches from North Service Road to the city-owned park along the north end of the property. It's listed just shy of $4 million.
"Well, obviously, we're running at around 10 per cent of our original revenue or regular revenue. So it has an effect on it for sure. We wanted to make sure that we didn't run into similar issues that other cultural clubs have run into in the past," the club's manager Dino Quattrociocchi told CBC News.
"And so in order to stay relevant, in order to stay afloat, we figured that this would be the best opportunity to do so."
The Fogolar Furlan is an Italian social and cultural club in Windsor, dating back to 1961, that is often used as an event space.
Quattrociocchi said the club hopes to take advantage of the region's hot housing market, so the area is expected to become a housing development.
Realtor Rob Mancini, who is handling the sale, said there are already several interested parties.
About six to eight developers are from Windsor and a few more are from other cities, including Toronto and London, Mancini told CBC News.
"My phone's been ringing off the hook," Mancini said. "It's good for the club, it's a good time, I think for the club to liquidate it."
"To be honest, anything you build there will sell."
In the past, the area has been used by sports team, particularly the club's youth soccer program, but Quattrociocchi said they still have land available to run that on. He also said they're opening an indoor multi-use sports turf in the Udine Complex.
He said he hopes it will open in the coming months.
Despite the hit from the pandemic, Quattrociocchi said the club is not in danger of closing.
"We can still go forward with what we're doing," he said. "It's just a level of comfort for us as opposed to if we didn't sell it, we're not going to make it. It's something as part of a general plan."
He said it's a decision they made to ensure the club is still "viable."
The deal will go before the city's Committee of Adjustment at the end of May. The new owner might also have to get a slight zoning amendment depending on what they plan to build in the area.
