Residents stormed out of Beaconsfield City Hall Monday night fuming over plans to turn the West Island Tennis Club into a condo development.
The 2,000-member tennis and fitness facility on Alton Dr. near Elm Ave. has been a long-time hub for local residents to play tennis and visit friends.
City council unanimously passed a zoning regulation change for the fitness facility at club owner Mark Kaneb's request, who said he sank more than $1 million into renovations for the tennis club in a futile attempt to make it profitable.
"Unfortunately... business is business and in today's world, the club doesn't fit into an economic model and I have to move forward," said Kaneb who plans to build a four-storey condominium facility in its place.
The planned renaissance doen't sit well with tennis instructor Charles Tischler, who worries that if the club closes many seniors and families will simply stop being physically active.
"They're going to have to drive 30 to 40 kilometres away to get to another tennis club and maybe they are not interested in doing that," said Kaneb.
Some Beaconsfield residents are circulating a petition to protest the zoning change, said Allana Henderson Damphousse, who opposes the construction project.
"We're organized. We are going to push through the referendum if need be. We definitely will," she said.
If residents are unable to garner enough signatures to warrant further discussion, the club will close its doors in September.
"Obviously he's going to make a lot more money with condos than with a tennis club," said Damphousse. "But the community is going to suffer."
