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MARSH FOREST RESORT $100 million resort and retirement project will feature a boardwalk from the Island to town “My wife calls it ‘the mushroom effect.’ Rearranging furniture reveals previously-unseen marks on the wall. These require filling and sanding, then two coats of paint. The refreshed wall results in making the ceiling’s finish look shabby. The conclusion...? No project is ever as straightforward as it sounded in the planning stage” ... Scott Mercer Now imagine if the objective were a $100-million waterfront development on 70 acres of greenbelt land. “We estimated the approvals would take two or three years,” architect and urban planner Peter Favot says of the Marsh Forest Architect Peter Favot, left, and Peter LaPosta, President of the Marsh For- est Group, are looking forward to getting their project underway. 14 FOCUS - SEPTEMBER 2014 Resort and Arts Community. “It ended up closer to nine, but itll be worth the wait.” Marsh Forest will reshape a half-mile of Scugog Island’s southwestern shoreline with construction of a 40 to 60 room hotel and estimated 170 condo- miniums. The facility will also incorporate docking slips, a system of nature trails, swimming pools, restaurant, 20,000 square feet of commercial space, a two km waterfront walking-biking path and boardwalk which will link the resort to downtown Port Perry. “Access to the town is important for both residents and hotel guests,” Peter explains. “The horseshoe those paths form, will tie the resort and the town like a harbour in a beautiful bay.” Tronically, the idea for the current resort grew out of a pair of failed attempts. “A picturesque town like Port Perry is a perfect setting for a resort. Years ago, I heard Seven Mile Island was up for sale, and put together a group of investors to purchase it for that purpose. Unfor- tunately, another consortium was selected. The same land came up for sale a couple years later, but again we lost out. “At lunch after that second bid, we noticed the virgin land at the southwest tip of the island. Someone at a nearby table overheard, and in- formed us — to our surprise — that it was pri- vate property. That was the beginning of Marsh Forest.” Peter LaPosta, President of the Marsh Forest Group, a part of the project since its inception, says the town of Port Perry attracted him. “It’s a beautiful little town, kind of a mini Niagara-on-the-Lake, and I got a nice feeling there. And it has the advantage of proximity to Toronto as well.” Favot would serve as