New Vision Condominium Residences of Sudbury, is looking to build three condo buildings on the site of the former Kenroc industrial property on Memorial Drive.
North Bay City Council approved the sale of the property for $25,000, following an in-camera session at a special meeting of council Thursday night.
Mayor Al McDonald said the by-law has changed, allowing for construction of up to eight storeys.
“Our Waterfront Downtown Master Plan was to put residential condos on that site, that’s what we were hoping to achieve. And there was a lot of interest from this developer to do that,” said McDonald.
The plan is to build three buildings at a projected cost of $5 million for each phase of development.
“There’s 63 units. And there's three phases, so they’ll build them in phases as they sell. There’s no question that I believe these condos are going to be in high demand. They’re putting a parking lot at the bottom of the apartment building that will mitigate some of their environmental costs. If they put residential units right to the ground, they might have to spend $1 million cleaning up the property. If they move up one level, it might mitigate a lot of those costs, but it all depends on the building,” said McDonald.
“And they’re accepting all the environmental responsibilities and liabilities, we are not. They still have to do their due diligence, but there’s no question that it’s a great opportunity for the city. This is something the city has been trying to sell for 15 years.”
Chief Administrative Officer Keith Robicheau says the company has until August 2019 to complete the sale.
“The date is to complete all due diligence and move to complete the sale. Certainly, if they can complete any of the parts of the process, and due diligence earlier, that can be looked at, but obviously they’re aiming to be able to move to be in a position to construct the first phase as soon as they can,” said Robicheau.
“The present zoning on the site permits the multiple residential uses and some commercial uses on the property.”
The conceptual design shows one small commercial building on the site, but the CAO says that is for a future phase.
“If for some reason they do not move ahead and they’ve done their due diligence, and spent money on studies, we become the owners of those studies. That was one of the conditions we put in,” said McDonald.
Scott Bentley, realty agent for the purchaser, says the units will be a good size.
“What’s proposed at this point is about 1,600 square feet per unit. The initial design is for two bedroom units, ensuite bath, walk-in closets, and open concept living room, dining room and kitchen and another two-piece washroom for convenience.“
The mayor says this is in keeping with council's goal to draw more people to the downtown.
“We talk about the downtown core and the challenges we have down there, and if you look at New York City where they had a lot of challenges in the Times Square area, now there’s three million people down there and it’s probably the safest place to be in New York City,” said McDonald.
(Editors note: Google shows the actual population of Times Square District as 64,215.)
The mayor says he keeps hearing from citizens who say they aren't looking for 4,000 square foot homes anymore. They’re looking for 1,600 to 2,000-foot condos that are maintenance free.“The more people we bring downtown, the perception of safety goes way up. Our goal was always to redevelop the whole waterfront master plan because it was getting old, and our goal was always to bring people downtown, and this is a perfect fit. I think this is something the community will really celebrate.”
“I think this development is going to sell pretty quick, to be honest, I think it’s a great proposal by the developer,” said McDonald.
“This will spur other development. If you get another 100-120 people moving downtown, maybe it will spur on a small grocery store, it’s going to help the restaurants that are down there, and it’s going to create a vibrancy. And there’s no question the view is going to be outstanding.”
