It started as an idea and a dream by a native son who wanted to give back to the community he calls home.
Shaun Majumder met with the residents of Burlington early in 2010 and shared a vision of something that at the time seemed a little bit extravagant and almost impossible for the little town on the Baie Verte Peninsula.
It was a dream for a house – “wait, not a house – much more than a house,” said Mr. Majumder. “It’s going to be some sort of inn – not a hotel, or a motel, but an inn.”
Or perhaps a manor, since that’s what his nationally televised show on the W Network will be called – ‘Majumder Manor.’
“The show will document everything from beginning to end – where the ‘end’ is, I’m not sure yet,” Mr. Majumder said at a public meeting with the residents of the town this past week. His idea has been picked up for a 12 part documentary series which is going to profile the building and operation of the project – a completely green and eco-friendly structure which will also act as a high-end place to stay for tourists and people wanting to enjoy the beauty of this part of rural Newfoundland and Labrador.
“There’s no place in the world like Burlington,” Mr. Majumder continued.
He says he’s been all over the world and has yet to find a place that he enjoys more than his hometown. That’s why he left here last year armed with the support and encouragement of an entire community and immediately began working on the immense undertaking of putting the pieces of the puzzle together to make his dream a reality.
“We put together a piece and showed it to the network, and they loved it.”
The W Network is also the Canadian broadcaster of the new OWN network – created by Oprah Winfrey.
“So the possibility for expansion is always there,” he said.
But aside from the show, which Mr. Majumder is getting assistance with from his producer Stuart Coxe and best friend and cinematographer Peter Esteves, the task at hand is still how to go about building something so different from anything this province has seen so far.
“We interviewed something like eight architects,” explained Mr. Majumder.
He says he put out what he calls an ‘informal request for proposal’ in the fact that he wasn’t sure how to do it formally, so he just wrote from his heart to people he hoped would be interested.
“Some people got back to me and said stuff like ‘we don’t work for free,’ which I totally understood, but I still wanted to have a conversation with them,” he continued. “Some more came back with some amazing ideas, and I was blown away – and then one person gave me a very poetic response which just drew me in from the start.”
But despite all the options, Mr. Majumder says they were able to bring it down to two options. One of those was Acre Architectural Firm in Saint. John, New Brunswick.
“We had two companies that we were really stuck on,” he said “then at the last minute we really just took a chance and said ‘hey, let’s bring these guys to Burlington.’”
Monica Adair and Stephen Kopp, two representatives from the firm were with Mr. Majumder on his trip to town last week.
“We showed them around town, showed them a bit of the area, got to know them a little bit and really understood where they were coming from and what they were going for,” he said.
From that, the decision was made and announced in front of a live audience of residents that Acre had the job.
“We’re very excited – we want to help Shaun help all of you,” Ms. Adair told those in attendance.
The crowd was told their ideas, suggestions, concerns and comments are more than welcome when it comes to the project, since in essence this will be just as much their project as anyone else’s.
Baie Verte-Springdale MHA Kevin Pollard, who was in attendance at the meeting said he was very excited at this new opportunity and what it will mean for the area.
One of the biggest obstacles for this to succeed will be funding. While a budget isn’t in place yet, Mr. Majumder says he knows it’s something they need to look at.
“We’ll be looking towards a lot of different sources – from government to private investors and corporate sponsorships,” he said.
The initial funding will come from Mr. Majumder himself – who has decided to donate his talent fee from the network back into the project, as well as the fee of his fiancée, Shelby.
“Plus, I’m going to be embarking on a national tour very soon, where I’ll be promoting the show, the project, as well and looking for funding in any way possible.”
That, he says, will come from donations at shows, some of the proceeds from the tour will also go back into the project, including merchandise.
“I’m probably going to do a Raj Binder bobblehead,” he said with a laugh, referring to the popular character he created for the show “This Hour has 22 Minutes.”
But in any case, the future is looking bright for the Town of Burlington and the area. Film and building crews will descend on the area as early as July, when ground breaking is scheduled to take place and the show begins filming.
As for Mr. Majumder, in addition to this project, he’s still working on the ABC show Detroit 187, which airs Tuesday nights 11:30 p.m. local time.
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