Developer pivots from townhouses to single-detached dwellings

Tribute Communities is revising its plans for the Creemore Commons development, replacing a block of 68 condominium townhouses with 47 single-detached houses, thereby reducing the subdivision’s total unit count from 495 to 474.

The new concept plan shows 438 single detached dwellings, on the existing Gordon homestead, and 0-30 units for future development.

To accommodate the new design, council approved a zoning bylaw amendment and redline revision to allow for narrower lots, increased maximum lot coverage to 60 per cent, and extended height restrictions to allow for three-storeys.

In April 2025, Tribute requested a pause in a rezoning to allow for an “opportunity to fully assess the housing market, to confirm the type of homes proposed, and to monitor the township’s preparation of a new Comprehensive Zoning Bylaw as it relates to revised zoning standards,” reported Tribute’s planner Celeste Phillips.

Tribute cites a market shift away from condominiums toward freehold, single-detached homes as the reason for the revision.

The project has been on the books since 2003 when Alliance Homes first pitched plans for Hometown Creemore at the corner of Mary Street and County Road 9. It was the subject of a heated Ontario Municipal Board (OMB) process due to concerns that the development, originally at 527 units, would overwhelm the village, basically doubling the population. There was widespread opposition to the size of the project.

The OMB was settled in 2007, just in time for the economic crisis of 2008.

A pre-servicing agreement was approved in 2017 paving the way for construction of the first 25 units. Over many iterations it has included plans for multiplexes and rentals.

Image: A 2017 concept drawing for Alliance Homes.