Alliance development to include rental apartments
After a construction delay, Alliance Homes is back on track with Hometown Creemore Phase 1a, which includes, 15 single detached dwellings, a four-plex and a six-plex, for a total of 25 units fronting onto Mary Street.
“It’s going well,” said Alliance Homes president Alex Troop. “We had a little bit of a hiccough initially on the start up but we’re now working with a local contractor, B&J Contracting out of New Lowell, and they’re doing a great job.”
They are finishing the servicing of sewer and water, storm sewer and road works, before construction of homes can begin. Troop said he is hoping to have asphalt down by mid to late November.
After registering the subdivision, they plan to start the construction of houses immediately, said Troop.
House prices range from $529,900 to $689,900 and 12 of the 15 are already sold.
The multi-plexes will have a total of 10 rental apartments within the four-plex and six-plex, both built in the style of a large Victorian home.
“They were either going to be condominium apartments or rental apartments and at this stage in the game we were informed that there is a pent-up demand for nice rentals so instead of people having to buy we thought it might be desirable for people who want to downsize or cash out of their home, and still live in town, to have the availability of an apartment,” said Troop.
The rents range from $1,200 for 751 square feet to $1,700 for a 1,478 square foot two-storey unit, plus utilities. Pre-leasing for the apartments is expected to begin within the next two weeks.
Troop said there is also an opportunity to offer rentals in Phase 1b as well, depending on demand, or they could be sold as condos. Sales are expected to start in the winter or early spring.
Phase 1b will include bungalows, townhouses and freehold condo units, for a total of 95 units in a variety of styles.
The Hometown Creemore development has been on the books for more than a decade, since the land was purchased in 2004.
“We went through a very acrimonious OMB hearing whereby the town and the developer were on the same side. We believe that we had an application that met the tests of good planning and provincial policy,” said Troop.
Troop said the project was further delayed by a cooling of the housing market.
“Conditions changed and it wasn’t viable to launch the development.
“In the interim, from 2004 until now, nothing has happened in this town. There has been no growth. Creemore’s lost the TD Bank because of a lack of activity… there’s various businesses that are hurting financially. And now here we are and people are saying we need to grow… There has been a lot of wasted time to get to where we are,” said Troop.
The current 498-unit development was agreed upon in a 2007 settlement between Alliance and the Creemore and Area Residents’ Association (CARA).
A number of financial contributions were laid out in the agreement, including a $100,000 donation to a community foundation and $500 per unit in voluntary assistance paid out to the medical centre following the completion of Phase 1, all of which have been delayed as a result.
For rental information, visit www.alliancehomes.ca/site/hometown-creemore.
