Potential condo towers are ‘good news’ for downtown, city officials say

City officials are voicing their support for a major downtown development that could potentially see the construction of up to 12 condominium towers near the Sault’s waterfront.

As SooToday reported yesterday, the Station Mall’s managing partner StratonHunter Group recently announced that residential developments for these buildings are in the preliminary stages on both ends of the mall.

That same group is currently overseeing a $60-million restoration of the mall, which will include a 50,000 square-foot "eatertainment" complex, a dining sports bar and restaurant, and up to 15 retailers — all expected to be completed in 2024.

Based off the limited but eye-catching information provided on the mall’s hospitality advisors' website, Mayor Matthew Shoemaker welcomes the prospect of these condo developments with open arms.

“There’s a lot of priorities that would be met by having residential developments in the downtown core,” he said. “We need additional housing, and we want to revitalize our downtown — both of which I think would be effectively and properly served by having more residential space either on or adjacent to the mall.”

“However many residential towers they can get up for that market is ultimately a business decision they’ll make, and one we’re eager to support in my view because we want that property to be part of our downtown’s rebirth,” the mayor added. “But having more people downtown is the single biggest ingredient in the success of our downtown revitalization efforts.”

The above illustration from StratonHunter Group's website shows the parking lots at the former Sears and Walmart stores highlighted in blue and labelled: "Future Condo Development." These lots have been closed to the public for the last several months.

While it’s undetermined how much these potential waterfront units would be listed for, the Downtown Association’s executive director, Nicholas Luck, says his team supports any and all residential developments in the area — regardless of their affordability.

“Growing the neighbourhood is always a positive,” he said. “More residential is always good because that would merit new developments like a grocery store among other things.”

“The mall parking lot area is underutilized,” he added. “I’m not surprised the mall is going ahead to develop these buildings on the mall’s property and utilize some of that unproductive land.”

Also excited about the potential condo developments is Ward 2 councillor Luke Dufour, who expects any future construction efforts to resemble a “phased in approach.”

“I don’t think that 12 condo towers means they’re out of reality — they probably wouldn’t be looking at building them all right away,” he said. “They’re just planning for what the land can hold. Then they could proceed with each phase as the market demands, and I think that’s a smart way of developing.”

One of the top comments in response to SooToday’s coverage yesterday read: “We don't need more high-end, unaffordable housing. We need reasonably priced housing-apartments.”

Dufour agrees, but he says it’s not up to a private mall developer to provide reasonably priced units.

“It’s the government’s job,” he said. “We absolutely need more affordable housing. When you look at when the last major affordable housing builds were in Sault Ste. Marie, they were all in the early 90s, which was right before the federal and provincial governments stopped paying to build this stuff.”

“That’s what makes the housing corporation’s purchase of 49 St. Mary’s River Drive so compelling and so valuable for our community,” he added. “That apartment complex attracted over a dozen bids from the private market to start driving that high-end, residential development downtown. The housing corporation actually won the bid and was able to buy it, and has been able to reinvest in that building while keeping rents affordable.”

A housing report presented to city council last August identified 4,255 households in 2021 with three or more bedrooms that were occupied by just one person, mainly seniors.

Echoing similar sentiments as her Ward 2 counterpart, councillor Lisa Vezeau-Allen says it’s no secret the community is aging. She believes these potential condo developments could align sufficiently with that trend as new opportunities open up for seniors and younger families alike.

“A lot of people are still in their homes because there’s nowhere for them to go,” she said. “I think this would create movement for folks who are still in their home, and then young families can come into those homes.”

“Really, this creates two benefits: activating our waterfront and having people using the downtown, while opening up homes for folks who are moving into our community to buy,” she added. “But I think it’s so preliminary that to comment until we actually see the plan is difficult.”

Mayor Shoemaker says he’s proud of the proposals and ongoing housing developments around town, particularly at the Legion and Holy Trinity Church. He noted comments that suggest affordable housing isn’t being taken seriously just simply aren’t true.

“People have to look at what is happening before they dismiss what we do and don’t need,” he said. “Affordability is the continuum.”

“Through the housing corporation, we are constantly advocating, building, and trying to get more affordable units,” Vezeau-Allen added. “What we see with what’s going on with the Affordable Homeownership Program and Habitat for Humanity — there’s a lot of people out there working towards creating safe, affordable places for people. That work is ongoing and always happening.”

While adequate parking in the downtown core has been one of this year’s hardline debates, the mayor doesn’t believe the condos would expose any availability issues.

“I think the market will dictate what the parking requirements are for those buildings,” he said. “When marquee events happen, I would say they are almost exclusively in the evenings or on the weekends. There’s significant capacity in the commercial and municipal parking lots in the core that can accommodate those events very easily.”

“You’re always going to have some people who aren’t happy because they might want a parking spot right where they plan to go or maybe they don’t want to pay for on-street parking,” councillor Dufour added. “From a general perspective, I think our downtown is pretty well served with the parking we have.”

SooToday continues to await comment from StratonHunter Group for more information on their preliminary plans for the construction of up to 12 condominium towers next to Station Mall.