Work on the new clubhouse and restaurant at the Minnewasta Golf and Country Club has been progressing well, and officials are optimistic the project is on schedule.
General manager and golf pro Greg Hesom said a key aspect of the construction was being in a position to move on more to interior work before the onset of winter.
“The building was closed in before the cold weather arrived, so the guys are able to work inside with heating,” he said. “The interior walls are framed … the plumbing is going in, the electrical is going in and then drywall following shortly after that.
“Our goal was for sometime in June, and it looks like we are still on track for that,” Hesom said of the projected finish date.
The fire that destroyed most of the clubhouse and restaurant came early in 2025 after a gala had just recently celebrated the official opening of the new facility built after another blaze three years prior destroyed the original building.
While the clubhouse completion date is a bit of a moving target, Hesom said they will start the season with a snack shack and tent, so Santa Lucia will be open for business.
He is somewhat cautious and restrained in his enthusiasm for the rebuilt facility—his second new clubhouse since coming on staff at the golf course.
“I’ll be excited when it’s been standing for a couple of years, to be quite honest,” he said jokingly. “Surreal would be the word that I use. It’s a little bit like [the movie] Groundhog Day actually. It’s been a straight five years of either planning or building.
“It’s a good thing for the golf course and a good thing for the community, and we will carry on as best we can,” he said, adding it will be nice to eventually turn the focus back to running a golf club again.
In the meantime, it will also be a bit of a process to also get the sit-down restaurant up and running again considering they will need to build a new team.
“It will be a soft start,” Hesom said. “It’s going to take time to build it up again and to do it properly.”
