Quarry driving range to mark last day with Thanksgiving charity event

Beach Fairway Golf Range's lease with city set to expire ahead of planned redevelopment

When Kim Holman and her husband built the Beach Fairway Golf Range at Victoria Park Avenue just south of Danforth Avenue in 1999, their children weren’t born yet.

Thirteen years later, Holman said she’s had to explain to her two daughters, now 9 and 7 years old, why they had to leave the golf range they grow up with.

“From their lovely little innocent eyes, they just don’t understand why we have to give the land back,” Holman said.

Beach Fairway is closing its doors on Oct. 8, Thanksgiving Day, as its lease with the City of Toronto is set to expire at the end of the month. The land it sits on — part of a 17-acre parcel of old quarry land — will be transferred to Build Toronto, the city’s arms-length real estate and development corporation for redevelopment.

“Even though I explained that we just rent the land, to [my daughters] it’s our driving range,” Holman said.

On Thanksgiving Day, Beach Fairway staff will give out free food and golf tips to mark their last day and say goodbye to customers. Proceeds from mini golf and bucket sales will be donated to neighbourhood charity Variety Village, which suffered a flood recently.

“Since we cannot be permanent in this community, we want to try to help somebody else stay permanent,” Holman said.

“It’s Thanksgiving Monday,” she added, getting emotional. “We are so thankful that we had that 14 years and we had such a great time with our costumers and our staff.”

In a June letter to community group Concerned Citizens of Quarry Lands Development, Build Toronto’s vice-president Bruce Logan wrote the corporation is designing a mixed-use community with low-rise residential development, park space and retail.

Build Toronto is set to hold a community meeting to discuss future plans at the site on Oct. 3, 7–9:30 p.m., at Malvern Collegiate Institute at 55 Malvern Ave.

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By: Sunnie Huang
Posted: Oct 3 2012 2:28 pm
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