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Thursday September 5 2024 | Issue 656
INSIDE: KINMOUNT FAIR PHOTOS PAGE 21
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Owners say they’ll put $2M into Pinestone By Mike Baker
Bittersweet back to school Kassie Wright and Jason Bradley were one of thousands of parents who dropped their kids off at school this week. Their daughter, Jennie, started Kindergarten at Archie Stouffer Elementary School in Minden Sept. 4. Photo by Lisa Gervais.
Aurora Group president Shawn Aurora has reaffirmed his company’s commitment to Haliburton County, saying he hopes to see demolition of the Wigamog Inn property completed by the end of 2024, and announcing a new $2 million investment at Pinestone Resort. Aurora said it has been several years of reflection for the family-owned company, which primarily functions in hospitality and business management. He said, since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Aurora Group has done “more conserving than spending,” meaning many notable projects, particularly at Pinestone, have taken a back seat. “We held back to make sure there’s liquidity [to cover] simple operating costs… we’re no different from the regular public. When everybody had a shortage of cash with the economy, and when everything was technically closed with COVID, we felt that too,” Aurora said. “Now, we see light at the end of the tunnel.” He said several rooms at Pinestone have been renovated over the summer, while around $1.5 million is being invested to make the property “more green,” Aurora notes, which he hopes will include the installation of solar panels, likely next spring. There are also plans to break up and fill in the outdoor pool, making way for a new courtyard space that Aurora says would be ideal for weddings. Repairs to the indoor pool are ongoing, with the facility to reopen later this year, while the golf course has also seen some investment this summer. All-in, Aurora pegs the Pinestone investment at approximately $8 million since 2015. “What a lot of people don’t see is the underpinnings that are being replaced. Everyone sees the façade [and thinks the property is being left to rot] but they’ll start to see Continued ‘Auroras’ on page 2
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