There could be some activity soon at the site of a long stalled development near the Harry Lumley Bayshore Community Centre.
City councillors were told during Monday’s meeting there is a new owner of 297 18th Street East in Owen Sound, a property where a site plan was approved more than six years ago for a luxury apartment development.
Construction started in 2019, but was never completed. A foundation was poured and some steel stud framing went up. And then work stopped and it just sat there for years, becoming an eye sore. The city ended up revoking the building permit in 2022.
Owen Sound’s Director of Community Services Pam Coulter told councillors Monday the property was subject to a power of sale — a forced sale process which allows lenders to recover funds owing in situations where a property owner fails to repay a mortgage.
Coulter says the city was informed the new owner of the property is Graham Design & Construction.
It has slightly different plans for the property. Coulter says the Georgian Landing site plan approval is for a six-storey, 39-unit apartment development. The new plan of the new owner is a four-storey, 30-unit building.
“Correspondence has been received … advising of the owner’s vision for the property,” Coulter told councillors. “And the proposal, as we understand it today, is to be a life-lease (development).”
Graham Design & Construction sent a letter to the city, asking for the existing site plan to be transferred, development charges not collected and the building permit restored with “no further fees, or a minimal fee for the changes.”
Council approved a staff recommendation to advise the developer a minor site plan amendment is required to reflect the changes. Councillors also voted to charge the city’s minor site plan amendment fee to the new owner, and turned down the request to forego collecting development charges. But, council approved waiving the building permit fee.
Staff advised council the initial building permit fee of more than $92,000 for the Georgian Landing project was collected in 2019.