Dunsmuir Lodge to close

Since the late 1980s, Dunsmuir Lodge has served the University of Victoria and the wider community as an executive training and conference centre and the general public as a popular dining destination.However, late last month UVic Vice- President Finance and Operations Gayle Gorrill announced that, after much consideration, UVic will close the lodge on March 31, 2009. Despite the fine work of its dedicated staff, the lodge is not sustainable in its current form.

“This is a difficult decision to make because Dunsmuir is a favourite destination for many people, both for its executive training facilities and its dining room,” says Gorrill. “Because of the excellent work of its committed staff, Dunsmuir does cover its day-to-day costs, but it does not generate enough revenue for much-needed upgrades to take the facility into the future.”

The university estimates that it would take an investment of more than $2 million to bring Dunsmuir up to market standards, and Gorrill says UVic cannot justify diverting that amount away from its core educational and research mandate.

Dunsmuir was donated to UVic in 1985 by the late George Poole to support the teaching and educational missions of the university. For many years, Dunsmuir Lodge has served the needs of UVic and its wider community. However, the donor recognized, at the time of the gift, that operating the lodge as an educational training centre might not be in the university’s best financial interests in the long term and agreed that the facility could be sold if this became the case.

For several years, UVic has considered different future uses for Dunsmuir, including trying to secure private sector partners to jointly operate the facility. There have been additional expressions of interest recently from a number of different areas, and UVic looks forward to engaging in dialogue about Dunsmuir’s future use.

“We value and appreciate the contributions the staff have made to Dunsmuir over the years,” says Gorrill. “They will be given several months notice and, where appropriate, severance when we close the lodge.” Dunsmuir will remain operational until its closure.

Courses offered through UVic’s Division of Continuing Studies UVic on the Peninsula program at Dunsmuir will continue until the facility’s closure. Continuing studies hopes to maintain a presence on the peninsula in a new location following the lodge’s closure.