The historic Argonaut Rowing Club is poised for a rebirth after successfully raising over $1 million in community bonds to repair extensive damage following a massive flood two years ago.

Toronto’s waterfront is still recovering from the ravages of the May 2017 flood, wreaking havoc on properties like rowing club on Lake Shore Blvd. W.

The flood — which was caused by winter thaw exacerbated by record-rainfall levels — resulted in Lake Ontario rising at one point to over 75 metres over sea level. That was the highest ever recorded result for the lake, and vital tourist destinations like the Toronto Islands are still absorbing the impacts from it over two years later.

For the rowing club, the flood gutted the clubhouse changing rooms, and made the launch-off dock unsafe to use.

But even before the damage was assessed, the club was at a crossroads due to aging infrastructure of the nearly 150-year-old facility, said club president Jason van Ravenswaay. The rowing club was founded in 1872, and to stay in shape in the off-season, the rowers formed the Argonaut Rugby Football Club in 1873, which became the Argos football team that still exists today.

Looking to modernize its facilities and make them more accessible — a crucial concern for the para-rowers who train at the club — club leadership sought to launch a fundraising campaign, but were at a loss to figure out not only how to raise the money, but also how to update the decades-old infrastructure.

And then the flood happened.

“We were back to the drawing board at that point,” said van Ravenswaay during a recent interview. “So in a way (the flood) let us reimagine what was possible.”

Around summer 2017 the club developed a task force to come up with a formal plan to achieve its goal of raising the sufficient amount of funds to repair the damages, along with installing an elevator, construction space for a banquet hall and other features to update the look and function of the club facilities.

“If you’ve ever met a rower we’re pretty passionate,” said van Ravenswaay. “Everyone was motivated to step up.”

Refinancing strategies were suggested to raise some $2.3 million in contributions, but none seemed to make sense. Finally, a board member suggested making use of community bonds.

As its name suggests, community bonds emphasize social benefits while offering a modest return for investors. Such social finance schemes are used by non-profit groups to raise funds for a shared concern; the Centre for Social Innovation for example has issued community bonds to purchase office buildings in downtown Toronto.

In the case of the Argonaut Rowing Club, there were willing investors seeking to get involved and purchase bonds: club members.

“The members said we want to fund this,” said Judy Sutcliffe, whose association with the club goes back over 20 years.

With the assistance of Tapestry Community Capital, a non-profit which specializes in organizing community bond issuances, the club launched separate bonds with differing maturation and interest rates with a goal to raise $1.2 million for the club revitalization campaign.

For the first 45 days, club members were exclusively able to purchase the bonds before they were turned over to the public.

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With the campaign scheduled to end in mid-September, the bonds have raised $1 million and the club is confident it will hit its target.

Upgrading the rowing club’s facilities will also allow the club to offer more training programs for its junior rowers, five of whom will be representing Canada in international competition. And its new accessible dock, recently opened through support of a provincial grant, will give more than just able-bodied rowers a chance to take part.

“Now we have kids in wheelchairs who can spin onto the dock without difficulty,” said van Ravenswaay. “It gives you shivers in a good way.”