A London-based developer wants to build a high-rise residential tower on the west side of Front St. in Sarnia.
Vice-president of Operations for The Tricar Group, Adam Carapella, says they hope to begin construction late this fall at the long-vacant former Sarnia Gazette property at 275 Front St. N.
He says the waterfront site would be ideal for a 15-storey, 123-unit rental apartment building that would represent a $40-million to $50-million investment in the city.
"It's really, I think, an undiscovered gem for a lot of people that don't know Sarnia and aren't from the area," says Carapella. "Obviously access to the Great Lakes, beautiful waterways, some nice parks. There's been some very positive employment news over the last little while, in terms of plant expansions and so forth. We think the time is right and we're happy to be proceeding on this."
Carapella says they were able to finalize a building design that can be incorporated into the existing approved site plan.
"There was a building approved there about ten years ago before we bought the site," he says. "We were able to incorporate a building design that kind of matched what was there, so the planning approvals process now should be a lot smoother and cleaner. We may just need a minor variance, but no major rezoning work or anything to get this built."
Tricar was set to build a new apartment tower at 383 Christina St., but is putting that development on hold because it feels the Front St. property is better suited to current market demands.
Carapella says they have a waiting list at their Waters Edge building at 392 Front St., so the demand is there.
He hopes the building will be ready for occupancy in two years.
-With files from Dave Dentinger