Cabot Links Opens in Nova Scotia

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One of the world's newest golf resort properties creating a lot of buzz is Cabot Links. Situated along the remote west coast of Cape Breton Island, this former coal mine site is now Canada's first authentic links-style golf course.

Cabot Links, which is surrounded by dunes and rolling hills, sprawls along the Nova Scotia shoreline of Inverness on the Gulf of St. Lawrence. The upscale golf resort property is the latest creation of greeting card magnate Mike Keiser, whose Bandon Dunes property along the Oregon coast boasts 85 holes and is ranked as the No. 1 golf resort in the U.S.

Cabot Links, which recently opened, is among a handful of 18-hole courses scheduled to debut in North America this year. For those interesting in visiting this highly publicized new development nicknamed  Bandon East," it won't be the easiest trip.

For example, from New York, it takes about two hours to fly to Halifax and then another 3-4 hours to drive to Cape Breton. Private jet owners can get to the course much quicker by flying into a private airstrip about 50 miles from the property in Port Hawkesbury.

Once guests finally make their way to Cabot Links it is bound to satisfy the most discerning of golfers and resort goers. For accommodations, the resort features Cabot Links Lodge, a 48-room complex inspired that incorporates local materials such as cedar and heavy timber. The Lodge is located in close proximity to Cabot Bar and Panorama Restaurant, fanning south to border the putting green.

Despite its relative remote location, Keiser and co-owner Ben Cowan-Dewar are confident Cabot Links will remain a big draw much like Bandon Dunes has proven. Bandon Dunes, which features four 18-hole courses and a 13-hole par-3 course, had more than 100,000 rounds played last year as golfers from all over the country made the pilgrimage for an authentic links style experience normally found in Scotland or Ireland.

If Keiser and Cowan-Dewar can indeed duplicate the Bandon Dunes business model, there's already talk of a second championship golf course to be called Cabot Cliffs. This latter 500-acre parcel boasts more ocean frontage than Cabot Links and sits much higher off the water.

Noted golf course architects Bill Coore and hall of fame golfer Ben Crenshaw would also build the second 18 holes at the so-called Cabot Cliffs site.

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Broccolini Construction Announces 50-Story Mixed-Use Tower

Plans have been unveiled for the construction of what could become the tallest residential building in downtown Montreal. Broccolini Construction Inc. recently announced plans to build L'Avenue, a 50-story mixed-use residential high-rise in the center of downtown Montréal.

To be located on Avenue des Canadiens-de-Montréal, across from the Centre Bell, L'Avenue will feature a podium that will offer space for hotel, retail and restaurant opportunities. The tower will be made of three sculpted rectilinear volumes and offer 350 residences which will range in size from 500 to 1,500 square feet. Prices will start from the mid $200,000s.

The development site was purchased in February 2012, in partnership with Carttera Private Equities, for $14.1 million. L'Avenue is not the only mixed-use residential tower in the pipeline for Montréal. According to a report released by the City in April, there are 10 other new large-scale projects planned.

From humble beginnings in 1949, Broccolini Construction quickly grew from building homes to neighborhoods. Over the past six decades the company has built some 16 million square feet of industrial, retail, office and entertainment space for the who's who of retail Canada: Canadian Tire, Future Shop, Best Buy, Brault and Martineau, Loblaws, and IGA--as well as dozens of shopping centers and big-box stores.

The company's latest ambitious mixed-use residential project is scheduled to have a preview gallery available later this year.

M. Anthony Broccolini, managing director at the Montreal-based Broccolini, said L'Avenue is certain to "transform the urban landscape and reflect Montréal's international image: modern and cutting-edge."

Broccolini added the 574-foot tower will also bring new "vitality to this sector of the city," and Broccolini is convinced "L'Avenue will become a symbol of Montréal."