A deep-pocketed developer is looking for partners to potentially build a new hotel and seniors’ housing in Flin Flon.
Mississauga-based Kothari Developments Inc. plans to greatly expand its presence across Manitoba, with Flin Flon on the list of possible benefactors.
“Cities always have an abundance of people to come in and invest,” said Nizar Mawani, vice-president of Kothari. “But in smaller markets there seems to be a gap, so our vision is to see if there are any opportunities to work in areas like Flin Flon.”
Mawani sees room for another hotel in Flin Flon and wants to investigate the potential of bringing a major hotel chain to the community.
He also has a strong interest in possibilities around a seniors’ housing complex that would include recreational amenities like a swimming pool and fitness centre.
“We don’t want (seniors) to be isolated,” Mawani said. “We want them to live within the community. Most people like to segregate – ‘oh, this is a seniors’ complex.’ I don’t want to stigmatize that. I want to bring a life centre where (seniors) can also partake with the local community children of all ages, families of all ages.”
But Mawani said any seniors’ housing complex would hinge on a financial partnership with government.
“We would want to see a public-private partnership,” he said.
Mawani is also open to considering other local projects, such as apartments and condos.
“We’re looking for like-minded people to partner with because if you don’t know the terrain well, then you try to seek local partnerships,” he said. “But you also want to make sure that there are people that are like-minded (with) a desire to build Manitoba, so in order to make a profit, you want do it jointly and hand in hand with Manitobans not just in Winnipeg, but outside of Winnipeg.”
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Mawani stressed that nothing is set in stone and admits Kothari’s Manitoba vision may never materialize.
He himself has not been to Flin Flon, nor has he seriously researched the community. No financial amounts or timeframes have been discussed.
If there is interest among potential local partners, Mawani would likely visit Flin Flon next spring to have a firsthand look at the market.
“The city may want to do something, the province may want to do something, we may want to do something and the people may want to do something,” Mawani said. “Let’s put all the minds together and say, ‘What do the people really need? What do they really want?’ And once we’ve established what they want, then we can work together.”
Overall, Kothari plans to spend up to $500 million in Manitoba over the next decade, mostly on hotels, condos and apartment blocks.
The company is still attracted to Winnipeg, but Mawani believes rural centres like Flin Flon, Thompson, Winkler and Selkirk represent immense opportunities.
“I think that there are markets in these small areas and people in these markets have value to offer,” he said in a phone interview.
Mawani named several communities as areas of interest for his company in an Oct. 29 Winnipeg Free Press article.
He has since heard from potential partners in some of those communities, but not Flin Flon.
