Twelve new single-detached dwelling lots have been cleared for development in a growing subdivision on Airport Hill.
North Bay City Council granted final approval for phase 3 of the Sherwood Forest subdivision and the dozen new lots that will be developed on Pearce Street and Sugarbush Street during its last regular meeting. City staff clarified before Council received their recommendation to proceed, the developer, 1804016 Ontario Inc., had satisfied the conditions of the draft approval reached in 2016.
"The economic spin-off from the development of a subdivision is vast," Coun. Johanne Brousseau told her colleagues in support of approval, referring to the many skilled tradespeople and professionals employed as a result.
Coun. Chris Mayne noted the subdivision's approval is a "continued return on the investments the City made in 2016 to improve the sewer service and water service up to Airport Hill. In conjunction with other ongoing developments in the area, it's very positive to see this all coming forward and I'm pleased to support."
Coun. Dave Mendicino shared the details of a conversation he had with the agent for the developer and reported six of the lots are already spoken for and the other six are in high demand.
He added they continue to expect "a robust residential building season — not just this summer but next."
The local real estate market has boomed since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, with record sales months reported by the Canadian Real Estate Association over the past year and change. the North Bay Real Estate Board has shared the local inventory of homes for sale has depleted to levels not seen in decades. And, local home unit sales rose by over 10 per cent from 2019 to 2020, according to CREA.
Coun. Dave Mendicino also liked what he was hearing from people inside the industry in March, after Council gave its final approval for the second phase of a separate development, in Laurentian Heights, that will see six new single-detached homes added to that subdivision, also located on Airport Hill.
"The demand is high. The developer wanted to get these lots on the market as quick as possible — kudos to staff for facilitating," he said. "Overall we're hearing from developers this is going to be an extremely busy year from a residential development standpoint."
