Tag: Real Estate

New Window Wrap on King Street

John Draper

Carol McCann, Chair of the Downtown Coalition, this morning “unveiled” a window wrap for another empty store. On June 27, the Town launched the “Start here program” to help attract businesses to Downtown so that they would occupy empty stores and together with the C.I.P. program, the Downtown Coalition hopes that Downtown, particularly King Street, will become more attractive and thriving. Carol feels that already we are getting more visitors from Toronto and the wraps certainly do improve the look of empty stores. She also said that the quality of Community Improvement Program applications is improving and that the size of the grants is increasing (see link below).  Carol reported progress to Council last March and expects to make another… Read complete articleNew Window Wrap on King Street

Downtown Real Estate Update – July 2018

John Draper

With the sale of the old Curling building on Queen and the plans to build Condos there (see link below), I asked myself, what else is for sale in Downtown Cobourg?  Quite a number of buildings are on the market – many with tenants – so in that case, there may not be any visible change when they are sold.  In my survey, the first thing I noticed is that the building at 101 King West, which was the Milestone Boutique, has now changed hands: Milestone moved to Port Hope and a Port Hope business took their place in Cobourg.  The new business is Raw Animal Diet Inc. and they sell raw pet food which they believe is better for… Read complete articleDowntown Real Estate Update – July 2018

Housing Developments in Northeast of Cobourg

John Draper

Two public meetings were held on June 25 to discuss adjacent housing developments in Cobourg’s North-East.  One was an update of a 1700 unit sub-division first proposed in 2004 then approved in 2009. Called the Villages of Central Park and located at the north end of Brook Road, it was last presented to Council three years ago (2016) – since then only minor details have changed.  The other is more immediate and is called the Nickerson Woods subdivision with 23 bungalows located between Nickerson Drive and Midtown creek.  This proposal drew comments from nearby residents who were concerned about their view of the forest and drainage issues.  In the subsequent Committee of the Whole council meeting, both proposals were approved to… Read complete articleHousing Developments in Northeast of Cobourg

Housing Prices and Developments

John Draper

With the price of houses in Cobourg steady at about $100K more than in 2016, new housing developments in Cobourg are well under way.   There is the high end Cedar Shores project on King West (14 new detached homes), the West Park Village expansion (72 units) and the Harbour Breeze Condos on the Legion property (53 units) as well as rental units (e.g. on Munroe Street).  Although prices have leveled off, the recent price increases would motivate developers.  Prices for residential homes are steady at an average of around $425K – much like Toronto prices which are now level at around $775K.  That $350K difference means that a lot of GTA residents see Cobourg as a bargain. Averages hide the… Read complete articleHousing Prices and Developments

Vandyk moves forward with West Park Village expansion

John Draper

In the summer of 2014, Council gave initial approval to a Vandyk development expansion west of Canadian Tire (see map below).  Then in the Summer of 2016, Vandyk put 62 Townhomes and 10 semi-detached homes up for sale.  By the end of 2016 they were sold out and now they have asked council for approval of a “Pre-Servicing Agreement”.  That allows them to start work – finally.  Since the development is sold out, their sales office and model home are closed but their web site gives contact information (see links below).  Vandyk is a large developer with a presence in Brampton, Etobicoke, Sarasota, Mississauga, Shelburne and Oakville as well as Cobourg. The development is bordered by Canadian Tire, Carlisle Street… Read complete articleVandyk moves forward with West Park Village expansion

Tannery Master Plan Public Meeting

John Draper

Last Wednesday, the Town of Cobourg held a Public meeting to provide an update on the Tannery Project and once again get public input (See links below for earlier reports). About 50 people showed up – including Councillors Aaron Burchat and Debra McCarthy, some members of the Planning and Sustainability Advisory Committee and several members of the consultant’s team.  Director of Planning Glenn McGlashon made it clear that the intent is not that the Town will get into the development business but that it is setting policy and guidance.  The final report will recommend details of zoning and a Secondary Plan.  This will guide what happens in the area over the next 20 to 50 years.  As well as the… Read complete articleTannery Master Plan Public Meeting

Downtown Vitalization update – April 2018

John Draper

At the meeting next Monday of Cobourg Council, Carol McCann of the Downtown Coalition Advisory Committee will be presenting a progress report on how their efforts are improving Cobourg’s Downtown. The first thing to know is that “Downtown” is much bigger than just King Street – it includes the area from Lake Ontario north to James Street, East to Church/College and West to approx. Ball/Durham.  The mandate of the committee is quite broad and they are in fact making progress albeit slowly.  We know that because they are counting open businesses and documenting things that have changed.  They have also started to count pedestrian traffic which helps in the understanding of the impact of “events”.  For example, the Rib Fest… Read complete articleDowntown Vitalization update – April 2018

Two Major Projects up for Site Plan Approval

John Draper

In March of 2017, Sobeys showed the public their plans for expansion of the Foodland Supermarket. They want a new enlarged store and the required public meeting and re-zoning approval happened last year.   The Site Plan is now with the Planning Department. Changes from the public meeting have been incorporated and Council will be asked to approve a Development agreement at their next Committee of the Whole Meeting on Monday March 26.  At the same meeting, the developer of the Cedar Shore Estates property on King Street West (near Monk’s Cove) is asking for a subdivision agreement so the building of 14 homes can proceed.  This was first discussed in 2015 when the property was up for sale at an… Read complete articleTwo Major Projects up for Site Plan Approval