Chew's News

St. James Church, at the corner of Oakdale Avenue and Merritt Street, is being redeveloped into a unique condo building that will feature one and two bedroom luxury brick lofts. The historic church provides an antique setting that is blended with modern accents and fixtures for an architectural project that is very new to the Niagara Region.

Many of St. Catharines’ long-standing historic buildings are undergoing redevelopment for both residential and commercial purposes. In the Merritton community, there has been significant success with these projects, including the historic Keg restaurant building and the Stone Mill Inn complex.

New renderings and architectural drawings have been released for the redevelopment project at 63 Lakeport Road in Port Dalhousie now known as the Harbour Club Condos project. If you're interested in learning more about this redevelopment project, the City of St. Catharines is hosting a drop in open house on February 22, 2018 from 6-8 p.m at the Port Dalhousie Lions Club.

Premier Kathleen Wynne recently announced a $155 million dollar strategy to address the ageing population on November 7, 2017.

Today I’ll be looking at three new Niagara condo developments that have gathered attention recently. These developments are in varying phases of completion, from near complete to beginning construction.

The demolition of the former GM plant on Ontario St. in St. Catharines continues for Bayshore Groups, the site’s owner. The dismantling of the plant began in December 2015, and now, the first plan for reuse has been brought to St. Catharines City Council; new residential developments situated at the corner of Pleasant Avenue and Thomas Street.

Urban residential development remains a focus for developers and politicians in most of Niagara’s 12 municipalities. Cities are offering incentives for new housing builds in order to help spur economic growth and increase population. Many new builds are also being built on lands that were formerly commercial or reclaimed brownfields.

It was only a few years ago that the City of St. Catharines embarked on an ambitious and comprehensive review of its zoning by-laws. But significant changes in the real estate market, development industry and construction starts have prompted St. Catharines City Councillors to once again review these zoning by-laws.

The summer of 2016 was a turning point in the revitalization of Port Dalhousie. New commercial projects were finalized along Locke Street, the Union Waterfront development was announced in place of Port Tower and the Murphy’s building was sold through Colliers Niagara for revitalization. The estate of the historic Lincoln Fabrics property also hired me to market the property for sale with the Colliers Interational team as a commercial or residential redevelopment opportunity.

I am pleased to announce that Lincoln Fabrics has sold and details of what’s next for the property are slowly being released.

Dozens of luxury condo developments hit the Niagara residential market over 2016; a new rapidly growing trend in the Region. The demand for new buildings is rising, and investors are committing to developing new luxury concepts to meet that demand.

The question is: where is this interest coming from? Why are condos now a feasible investment in Niagara, when in years passed they failed to sell enough units to build? The primary driver is the retiree demographic.

Fort Erie is growing at a rapid rate.

The sleepy border town’s residential growth has accelerated past peak numbers recorded in 2007, hitting 256 new households in 2016. These numbers may feel small in comparison to other Niagara cities, but it’s growth never seen before in Fort Erie.