A Manitoba Queen’s Bench court has approved the sale of the Hecla Resort to Lakeview Management.

The Lake Winnipeg resort has been closed and in receivership for two years now and while there may be a new owner approved by the court, there are still some hurdles that will have to be overcome before it can reopen.

For starters Lakeview must negotiate a land lease with the province. The resort is located in the Hecla/Grindstone Provincial Park. There is also plenty of repairs required to get the property into shape.

"We’re up for the challenge," said Lakeview’s Keith Levit.

Lakeview also owns the Lakeview Resort and Conference Centre in Gimli.

"We believe the synergies (between the Gimli and Hecla properties) will be significant," Levit said.

Lakeview hopes to have the deal closed by mid-December and have the resort up and running again by April.

The details of Lakeview’s offer have been sealed, but according to the most recent receivers reports, the offer is likely below $3.1 million.

That was the value of the offer made by Ian Rabb in his efforts to but the property from the receiver. Rabb’s plan was to establish an addictions treatment centre but was rejected by the province.

The resort’s 18-hole golf course continued to operate this year even though its pro shop was vandalized and destroyed by fire. That, as well as burst pipes in the resort, caused a total of $500,000 damage this year alone.

martin.cash@freepress.mb.ca