It’s been six months since fire destroyed the main building at Chesley Lake Camp in Allenford and now, they’re rebuilding.
The July 1st, 2017 blaze completely destroyed the structure that housed their restaurant, tuck shop, office and meeting space and now the work as begun to resurrect the building and get the campground back to it’s original splendour.
The new Main Building is expected to be roughly 3 per-cent bigger and much more modern, according to Assistant Manager, Colleen Trask.
“That’s to account for making it more accessible, our old building was quite old and wasn’t as accessible to the public and so this one will be,” says Trask. “We had to go three per-cent bigger in order to accommodate some the regulations.”
Trask says they managed to continue operations following last summer’s fire that officials believe started in a garbage bin.
The camp resorted to temporary measures like tents, trailers and food trucks in order to keep business going during the busy summer season.
As for a timeline to complete the rebuild?
“We would like it done as soon as possible, however, the reality is we’re looking at this Spring into hopefully early summer,” notes Trask.
As for the total cost to complete the rebuild, Trask says they’re still working with insurance companies on quotes and at the time of this article, did not have any figures to report.
Above Photo: Artist’s Concept of New Main Building at Chesley Lake Camp, by Brian L. Shantz Ltd. Building Consultants & Site Planners 2018