Tag: Business

Kraft Property Sold

John Draper

The property once owned by Kraft has been sold – although subject to some unstated conditions.  Kraft closed operations in Cobourg in 2008 and sold the 64 acre property – it was bought in 2014 by a Cannabis company now called FSD Pharma who promised to create the world’s biggest indoor marijuana grow-op. This idea faded and FSD Pharma is now in the healthcare business and had no use for the large facility.  They listed it for $19.9M but it sold for $16.5M – that’s $258K/acre.  The new owner has not been named but seems legitimate since they have made a $660K deposit.  The deal is expected to close on May 31, 2022.  On the property is the Certo building… Read complete articleKraft Property Sold

Netflix back in Cobourg

John Draper

In 2019, Netflix came to Cobourg’s Downtown and filmed parts of season 1 of Ginny and Georgia and from February 22 to 25, they will be back again – filming parts of Season 2.  In October 2019 Kara Euale made a presentation to the DBIA about filming; she provided details of the benefits of this kind of disruption – her Powerpoint is in Resources below.  It’s not just the fees paid but also the publicity which attracts tourists.  This time, there will be approximately 120 crew members, 100 background performers and 40 production trucks.  They will film in Victoria Park, in front of Victoria Hall and along King Street West from Third Street to Hibernia Street.  Some roads will be… Read complete articleNetflix back in Cobourg

Staff Propose Licensing Developer Sales Trailers

John Draper

When moderate sized developers want to sell their homes, they will often park trailers on their land then use them as model units, construction offices and/or sales offices.  Two Downtown examples are the failed development on the “Quigley Lot” at 202 Second Street and the failed development of expansion of the John Lee Jail property.  I’ve labelled them “failed” since there have been no units constructed at those sites.  But the trailers for those projects have overstayed their original purpose and citizens have complained about them – calling them an eyesore and “being a place for individuals to trespass and shelter”.  Staff have now proposed that these structures be licensed so that they can be managed and they will present… Read complete articleStaff Propose Licensing Developer Sales Trailers

Starbucks Cobourg – Now Hiring

John Draper

Last November, it was announced that Starbucks was coming to Cobourg.  They will occupy a store (officially a “coffeehouse”) on the Mall property with a frontage on Elgin (County Road 2).  Included is a drive thru plus an indoor space.  Construction was delayed a bit by the pandemic and they did not make any public statements on the matter so there was speculation that maybe they changed their mind.  But no, they are now hiring.  There are two positions advertised on Workopolis – see the links below.  The jobs are entry levels but hourly pay is a little above minimum wage and unusually, there are fairly generous benefits (see below) plus perks like training to learn all about coffee and… Read complete articleStarbucks Cobourg – Now Hiring

New Employer Coming to Lucas Point

John Draper

A company called Audcomp is an IT company that also invests in Real Estate and they have offered to buy about 3 acres of land in Lucas Point Industrial Park at the north west corner of Dodge and Thompson Streets for $40,000 per acre.  Their offer was accepted by Cobourg Council at their C.O.W. meeting on Monday night, 29 March (subject to ratification at their regular Council meeting next week – Update:  It was ratified).   Audcomp plan to construct a building of approximately 8,000 ft2 to 14,000 ft2 to accommodate their tenant, Davey Tree of Canada who plan a National Distribution/Logistics Centre for their Canadian operations.   They are a US based company and plan more than 50 new local jobs… Read complete articleNew Employer Coming to Lucas Point

Update on FSD Pharma and Kraft Building

John Draper

The company that bought the old Kraft building had big plans at first.  They wanted to be the biggest grower of Marijuana plants in Canada and they floated their shares under the ticker HUGE.  But in July 2020, they announced that they would be giving up on that idea and selling their Cobourg facility with an asking price of $19M.  They moved out and are now based in Toronto.  Work is now focused on developing medications and when the Covid-19 pandemic struck, they aimed at using Cannabis compounds for its treatment.  Their latest announcement is that they have a licence agreement with an Italian company to “develop U.S. Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) approved veterinary drugs for the treatment of… Read complete articleUpdate on FSD Pharma and Kraft Building

First Cannabis Store opens in Cobourg

John Draper

In January 2019, Cobourg Council decided to allow Cannabis stores in the Town and now the first one has opened at 38 King Street West.  The three owners already have a store in Kingston and they plan one in Campbellford. There are three others waiting to be approved – two downtown and one on Strathy Road.  If there are any others, they have not officially applied for a licence.  See the list below. Two of the other store applicants also have multiple stores and web sites.  Given the approx. eight existing stores in Roseneath, it’s not clear if there will be enough business for all stores to operate or even if the other applicants will actually open.  But Mary J’s… Read complete articleFirst Cannabis Store opens in Cobourg

Council Approves Re-zoning of Woodlawn Property

John Draper

Last October, Council was advised that the new owners of the Woodlawn had applied for re-zoning to allow its use as a drug and alcohol rehabilitation centre.  At Tuesday’s Committee of the Whole Council meeting, the results of the public meeting were presented and Council was asked to approve re-zoning to allow the project to continue.  But first, three of the seven members of Council declared conflicts because they owned nearby properties (Councillors Darling and Chorley) or worked for a company that does business with the owners (Councillor Burchat).  This left four councillors to make the decision.  Ryan Guetter of Weston Consulting represented the owners and provided two documents with responses to questions asked at the public meeting in November. … Read complete articleCouncil Approves Re-zoning of Woodlawn Property