In June 2018, Council agreed to sell the parking lot on the corner of Queen and McGill (opposite the Post office) to a developer.  One condition was that the developer include at least 64 parking spaces for public use which would replace those currently on the lot.  The development would also use the land of the adjacent old run-down curling building at 22 Queen Street.  At tonight’s Council meeting, Richard Tseng (with Virginia Lam) from EIE Corporation presented more details and asked for an amendment of zoning rules.  Given that it’s been almost three years, we could be forgiven for thinking that the project had died, but apparently not.  It will be impressive at 5 storeys with rooftop gardens.  At… Read complete articleProgress with Queen Street Condo Development

There are five housing developments in Cobourg’s East End either currently being built or planned.  Supporting commercial developments include a plaza housing a Tim Hortons plus a supermarket at Wilmott although as usual there is no firm timeframe on these. As well as the County’s affordable housing re-development at 265 – 327 Elgin, East Village phase 5 is ongoing, the Mason Homes development at 425 King East has started, the Nickerson Drive development is proceeding and there are indications that the large development at Elgin and Brook is being started.  Called the Villages of Central Park or the Rondeau lands, it calls for 1500 to 1700 homes in six phases with the first phase of 144 to 216 homes on… Read complete articleCobourg’s East End Continues to Grow

The owners of the property at the northeast corner of King Street East and Brook Road North first applied for approval to develop the property in 2014 and despite getting approval, never proceeded to build.  But in April 2020, another application was made and has worked its way through planning with several changes.  I reported on one version in August 2020 – see link below – but the final site plan was up for approval at the Committee of the Whole Council meeting on January 25.  Council approved the application.  Development will be in two phases with a gas bar and Tim Hortons in the first phase.  The plan includes two spaces for Electrical Vehicle chargers and a second phase… Read complete articleTim Hortons Coming to East End

Monday’s Committee of the Whole Council meeting was long but included several key decisions.  The hottest and most contentious issue was whether to proceed with approving the development by Van Dyke Homes next to Canadian Tire but it wasn’t the only issue.  The others will be reported later this week – but given the intensity of feelings of neighbours on Carlisle Street and the quite long debate in Council, let’s try to understand the issue. Background The land in question is adjacent to Canadian Tire with a commercial frontage on Elgin Street.  The intent is to build 62 townhouse units and 10 semi-detached units with access via a loop accessed via a single road from Carlisle Street. The residences would… Read complete articleVan Dyke Homes Development Plan

Cobourg Council had a meeting on Tuesday to get public input on an application for site plan approval by Vandyk – West Park Village Ltd. for their property adjacent to Canadian Tire and between Elgin West and Carlisle.  The project for 62 Townhomes and 10 semi-detached homes started in 2014 but died after getting site plan approval – which has now expired.  But in the spring of 2018, Council gave pre-servicing approval (see link below) to construct the underground infrastructure and rough grading on the site and this has now been 90% completed. Homes were sold and it looked like the project was going ahead.  But now VanDyk is back seeking a fresh site plan approval with the original design.  But… Read complete articleVanDyk’s Site Plan up for re-Approval

At Monday’s Council meeting, Councillor Nicole Beatty, in her coordinator role, reported on activity in the Planning Department.  Her list was long and included projects adding perhaps 1000 new housing units – most of these in Cobourg’s East End but some in the West part of Town.  Although there is a list of planning projects on the Town’s web site, Nicole’s list was longer and included some interesting updates.  She did not provide a publicly available transcript [Update: full Transcript now available – see Links – Thanks Nicole] but I have provided highlights below including updates on some old projects as well as newer ones.  See the links below if you want the whole thing.  She finished with a comment… Read complete articleCobourg Planning Update – Highlights

Near the start of the Covid-19 crisis, Cobourg’s Planning department received a re-submission of an application for Site Plan Approval that had originally been submitted in 2014.  The re-submission on 6 April 2020 was for a significant development on the corner of King Street East and Brook Road North.  Since there have been a good number of projects in Planning, I barely noticed it and I did not give it the coverage it deserved – so here it is now.  The project consists of four buildings – one is labelled as a Tim Hortons, another is a convenience store and a third shows two restaurants.  The fourth building has five retail stores.  Both Restaurants and the Tim Hortons have drive–throughs… Read complete articleDeveloper Re-submits for East End Project

Cobourg’s planning department is involved in a number of projects – some move through quickly but sometimes developers are slow to act so projects take many years.   In any event, planning does a good job of putting details and status on the Town’s web site so the public can know what’s happening.  Details are brought to council at various stages – some require re-zoning and can be controversial and others get a lot of attention because they respond to a cause like a shortage of low-cost housing. The Town site has a lot of detail (see link below) and includes details on projects such as the Tannery project, the new strip plaza on Mall property, the new Coastguard building and… Read complete articleUpdate on Major Projects – Feb 2020