Golfers in Hespeler Village who were hoping to have a nearby place to work on their golf swings over the winter are going to have to wait.
The opening of The Golfers Academy, an indoor golf simulator business, planned for 54 Guelph Ave has been delayed. Owner Jason Faubert confirmed the news last week.
Faubert, who also owns a location in Burlington, had hoped to open the facility this month but cited certain zoning bylaw amendments for the stalled progress.
"Still working on it," Faubert said of the process.
"We had to put new site specific amendments. We're just waiting on the building owner to get back to us."
Located in an old steel fabrication shop, the building had previously been zoned for industrial use only and needed an amendment to allow the space to be used for commercial-recreational purposes.
A site-specific provision was requested at a city council meeting in November to require one parking space per tee and a minimum of two spaces for staff. A total of nine tees are planned for players, bringing the number of spaces needed to 11.
No exterior changes were proposed for the building or site.
When reached for comment on what requirements still needed to be met, the city said there's a mandatory zoning amendment appeal period that expired on Dec. 9.
"No appeals were received and the zoning is now in effect," Alana Russell, director of communications for the City of Cambridge, said.
"Documentation has been updated to reflect the site-specific zoning."
One of the main issues now for the business is the timeline.
As an indoor facility, it's ideal to have renovations done in the fall for a winter opening, Faubert said.
"For us, build is important preseason, not postseason." he said.
"If we start building in January, we're going to open in April and then it's summer golf and we're kind of useless for six to eight months."
Faubert said work is being done behind the scenes to move the project forward but couldn't give a timeline for when it may open.
