Controversial demolition of Roseland Golf clubhouse greenlit by council

City officials say there will be no impact to the historic Donald Ross designed golf course, but a new clubhouse will be built and the potential for a new condominium complex has been envisioned. (Source: City of Windsor)

Windsor city council has signed off on demolishing the clubhouse at Roseland Golf, setting the stage for a highly-controversial rebuild, and possibly condos on the same property.

At Monday’s meeting, councillors awarded the demolition job to Sterling Ridge General Contracting, with work to begin after this fall’s golf season.

Temporary facilities will be brought in so the course can keep operating while the old clubhouse comes down.

The building, opened in 1979, has been shuttered since the pandemic.

A consultant for GGA Partners, a Toronto-based firm that specializes in golf and club management consulting, told council Monday it would cost more to repair than to replace.

Roseland has since been running on a bare bones model, with food and beverage service cut back, but golf rounds and profits up.

A smaller, more modern clubhouse is now the plan — about 5,500 square feet, with a covered patio, “grab-and-go” food service, and a few administrative offices.

According to consultant Stephen Johnston, the trend since COVID is away from banquet halls and towards outdoor social space.

Johnston also reminded councillors that Roseland is one of the few surviving Donald Ross-designed courses in North America, a pedigree he said Windsor should treat as a civic brand.

“You have a true asset here,” he told council.

“It’s something we rarely see, and it should be protected for the long term.”

What divided council was whether to link that new clubhouse to a potential housing project. City administration is preparing an “expression of interest” that would ask developers to pitch both a clubhouse and a condominium building on the site.

Several residents argued that idea was never clearly presented at a public open house this summer, saying they expected feedback would shape only a clubhouse, not condos looming over the patio.

One delegate called the process “premature”, given there’s still a heritage appeal pending before the Ontario Land Tribunal.

Johnston also warned council about mingling golf operations with residential development.

“If you intermingle the business plan, you put the golf course at risk,” he said, urging councillors to rebuild the clubhouse first and leave real estate for another day.

Ward 1 Coun. Fred Francis agreed, calling the bundled approach “bad business.”

He argued Roseland is already profitable and capable of financing a modest clubhouse on its own.

“We’re complicating things,” he said.

Mayor Drew Dilkens countered that the city should at least test the market.

“You have zero risk to move forward and award the tender to demolish the clubhouse, which you have to do anyway,” he said.

“If no one responds to this EOI, forget the housing. But this is the one chance we have to see what the market will bear.”

After a lengthy debate, council voted 9-1 to proceed, with Francis opposed.

Demolition is expected to start late this year and finish by spring. A new clubhouse is unlikely to be open before 2027, with council to revisit whether any housing proposals move forward in the meantime.