It turned out that the land use bylaws of the day permitted the development of certain residential communities on the farm. Maxwell, coming from the house construction industry, and David coming from the manufactured housing industry, put their combined expertise together and formulated a vision of what has become one of the largest Adult Lifestyle Communities in Canada – Sandycove Acres!
That was in 1971. For more than 32 years, Maxwell Rice and Dave Robertson were actively involved in the management and development of Sandycove Acres.
In many ways Sandycove Acres Limited is a family company. As such it is a closely held company with many family members taking an active part in the operation of the company. That family approach has influenced the character of Sandycove Acres. It has helped to ensure that ownership remained in the same hands for 40 years. It has also contributed to the “hands on” approach which management has taken over the years, and has helped to continue the longevity of the management team and the integrity of the community. Many of you will know that Rod Rice and Trevor Robertson, sons of founding owners have held senior management positions since 2001.
Trevor & I were childhood friends, went our separate ways in business, and now find ourselves working together here at Sandycove Acres. We share the responsibilities of General Managers working in conjunction with Denyse Beattie, Steve Tompkins and the Sandycove Acres staff. Maxwell Rice passed away in 2006. David Roberson continues to play an advisory role.
Trevor and I appreciate the confidence shown by Sandycovers in the whole management team here at Sandycove. Our job is to ensure the success of Sandycove Acres. We intend to do that to the best of our ability. We will measure that success by the degree of satisfaction that you as Sandycovers have in your decision to live here in this fine community. We look forward to meeting and working with many of you in the upcoming year.
Rod Rice
Hi Rod,
ReplyDeleteMy name is James Ryan (formerly Jim Stratigeas). I graduated from Barrie Central in 1972, and our family was one of those "pioneers" of Sandy Cove Acres. We moved into 30 Locust Hill Drive in 1971.
At that time, we also owned Maple Lane Farm, approx. 1/4 mile from Sandy Cove Acres (on what was then RR#11). We were unique, as we were the only farm with the multitude of goats running around. Holiday makers would always stop to admire them on their way to lake Simcoe.
My parents were part of the famous pier 21 immigration wave. They immediately moved to Toronto (where my sister and I were born). At the age of 4, we moved to Innisfil township, and bought a 150 acre farm on what was then RR #12. A few years after that, we moved to a 50 acre farm on RR#9...followed by RR#11, and finally, Sandy Cove Acres.
My dad was the security guard for awhile. My sister and I often handled the cloak room in the hub (the original barn) when dances and other events were taking place. My friend Dan Holland (whose family were also residents) and I spent many hours playing billiards in the rec building...which also housed the shuffleboard court at the time.
Unfortunately, we only lived there for approx. a couple of years, then moved to Europe (Greece). I have since returned to Canada in 1996 and now live in Nova Scotia. I fondly remember my stay at SCA as among the best years of my life!
I'm thrilled to hear that it's still thriving, and would dearly love to visit some day. To anyone who may remotely remember us, I would love to hear from you...especially my SCA buddies and neighbors Dan Holland and Ian Bremner. I can also be reached at: jdr.sca@lifebyfood.com Take care and keep up the good work.
My apologies, it was 32 Locust Hill Drive. :-)
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