Ontario plays 'Let's Make A Deal' with municipalities
(This post is Part 2 of previous writing)
It was just before Christmas I recall -- the festive season of 2023.
What occurred then?
The City of Woodstock signed its Building Faster Fund pledge with the Province of Ontario. As I pointed out in my previous entry, municipalities are a creature of the province -- all 444 in the province and some are one tier, some are two tiers like in Oxford (Oxford and lower tier Woodstock), some are small townships, while others are geographically quite large with a smallish population, but there are 444 possible members of AMO (Association of Municipalities of Ontario).
The Woodstock pledge was 5,500 residential units by 2031. One unit could be a 600 sq ft 1-bedroom apartment or it could be a 4,000 sq ft 5-bedroom mansion. A unit is a unit is a unit is a unit. One area early on that was contention or a quandary is whether a new room in a retirement home counted as a unit -- and it certainly does.
Where will Woodstock obtain its 5,500 living quarters ?
Firstly, the pledge was made 2.5 years ago and many building permits have been issued since.
The top of the iceberg is below water level as the City has approved hundreds of units which could all be in place easily by 2031 -- or not. Market trends, interest rates, supply and demand, employment shifting, and incentives can all assist in a shift in either direction. The City, for example, has approved an approximate 22-storey apartment building (Several levels of parking garage and then apartments above) to be located where the Downs At Cedar Creek clubhouse previously stood. However, the City's economic development office must find a developer / builder to take on the project (Own it and manage it too) as the Corporation of Woodstock doesn't build such structures.
Former hospital site at Riddell - Brant - Wellington - Vincent for about 40 units.
The one-and-old 401 Lakeview at Vansittart approved subdivision which Alder Grange residents and City Council clashed with provincial land tribunal about. (260 units)
Townhouses at Lansdowne and Devonshire. (27 units)
Townhouses on Mill Street (360 - 366) across from ambulance station.
Apartment building with 13 floors at Juliana and Alberta. (260 units)
Two apartment buildings at Juliana and Champlain (with more to be built later; 550 units)
Apartment building at Juliana and Salter.
Apartments with stacked townhomes on Pavey at former vet hospital locale.
Apartments at 175 Springbank attached to Bethany Lutheran church. (40 units)
Townhouses at Oxford and Hunter streets. (8 more)
Townhouses at 50-56 Park Row (10 in total)
Apartment building at Wellington and Main for 6-storey construction.
More . . . More . . . More
Westwood Hills / Cachet Homes north of Karn Road (Gillespie connects to Anderson now) with 6 different builders. (730 units)
Sally Creek family subdivision at Masters Drive (20 more lots ?) and adult-only Garden Court (30 more units)
Hartley Farm subdivision (East off 11th Line) -- 10 more building lots.
Townhouse condos at 261 Pittock Park Road (18)
Havelock Corners (Thames Developments / Kingsmen) at former Thornton farm (380 units planned).
and River & Sky (Woodstock Meadows) which includes 8-storey planned apartment structures plus many townhouses and detached homes (More than 1,100 units).
Finally, the Neighbourhooods of Devonshire now includes Fusion Homes along with Claysam. (Calais and Dunkirk streets; 200+ units additionally)
Note: As some of these subdivisions are nearing completion, I've added a modest or low number of more homes planned).
No comments:
Post a Comment