ST. CATHARINES-NIAGARA FALLS | Niagara Region Development Thread

[Innsertnamehere]

Originally Posted by drafty

Niagara Falls is pegged to have the highest hotel occupancy rate in Canada next year. This expansion, and other proposed hotels, won't be available for a few years, but it appears that the experts think the future is bright

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/vancouve...cbre-1.1672288

It's still down 9% from 2019 for the Niagara Falls market - but the 2019 market seemed to be leaning towards some growth already, so if 2023 or 2024 can surpass 2022, it should indicate a healthy market for some new rooms.

Niagara Falls hasn't seen a new hotel in 15 years at this point too, a new player could likely make some fairly easy inroads by providing a modern facility. the Hyatt Regency/Centric that had started construction will hopefully restart soon, and was a sign of confidence in the market pre-pandemic. If any of the dozen or so major tower proposals with hotel components can get moving, that would be even better.

[saffronleaf]

Niagara Falls could be so much better for being such a major tourist attraction. That Clifton Hills stuff is so tacky and sad. Please destroy it.

[ScreamingViking]

Originally Posted by saffronleaf

Niagara Falls could be so much better for being such a major tourist attraction. That Clifton Hills stuff is so tacky and sad. Please destroy it.

I'd prefer they develop more attractions and keep most of the kitschy stuff... it can be fun.

Not that I visit it very frequently. Might go to the Falls a couple of times a year, and the focus is usually walking around the brink of the falls (when it's not a packed shoulder to shoulder) and through the parks, driving the parkway from NOTL well up river, and sometimes going to a restaurant.

[Wigs]

Lancaster Park apartments Welland update
showing relation to Seaway Mall and future Seaway Mall development proposal

looking East down Lancaster Dr (at Niagara St)


defunct Target - Seaway Mall parking lot adjacent to Lancaster Park apartments


looking North from Seaway Mall parking lot


next to existing 1970s Commieblock apartment that got a renovation


Google satellite shot of Seaway Mall with my poorly drawn outline of where development is proposed
New build = Lancaster Park apartments

[johnnyhamont]

Originally Posted by johnnyhamont

Utopia Beamsville update from New Horizon

From today:

[johnnyhamont]

Developers propose 370-unit build in Beamsville

https://www.thestar.com/local-grimsb...eamsville.html



Consultants working with a developer in Beamsville are hoping additional step-backs will be a step in the right direction for a condo build by Ontario Street and Greenlane.

Matt Johnson, a planner with Urban Solutions, presented a plan from Homes by DeSantis to build a 370-unit condo in Beamsville.

The proposal Lincoln’s committee of the whole saw at its Nov. 29 meeting was altered from the one shown to the public at an earlier open house.

“Initially we had a 10-storey building in its entirety, and we did hear the concerns related to height so we sculpted that height in a different format,” said Johnson.

According to a report from the planning department the initial proposal included “a small 8-storey portion at the north and east ends of the building.” The updated proposal would see a “revised building height along Greenlane Road consisting of 8-storeys with a 3-storey podium.”

Other changes saw the reconfiguration of commercial space to front Greenlane Road as opposed to internally to the site, and an increase in parking spaces to 450, 69 spaces more than the town’s bylaws require.
...

The article goes on to document residents' concerns over putting density in the wrong place in regards to this 8-10 storey proposal immediately across the street from a future Go station...


Renders from the original submission:

[DavefromSt.Vital]

Was in the Fallsview area for the first time since the pandemic started. Doesn't look like a lot has happened with the dual Hyatt project at Murray and Fallsview. Is it dead or just on "hold"?

Also, in speaking with a casino employee, he said the new event centre behind the Hilton is apparently/allegedly ready to go, but they just don't have any shows.

Also, what happened to the big brick building on the SE corner of Robinson and Fallsview?

[tddasv]

Progress on the tallest buildings in St. Catharines (21-storeys)



Source: https://www.niagaradev.ca/profiles/glenridge/theshipman

[ScreamingViking]

Not development news, but kids getting into trouble.

There's been talk lately about what to do with this old hulk in Jordan, and that article is about the masts needing to be removed for safety reasons. Until then, expect Darwin Award candidates to continue to visit.

https://www.thespec.com/nd/news/niag...shipwreck.html

[Wigs]

In 2021, 1,108 building permits were issued, compared to 767 in 2020. Of those permits, 759 were for new dwelling unit starts.

A release from the city said the value of construction for all building permits last year was about $245 million. That’s a 22 per cent increase from the estimated construction value — approximately $200.1 million — for 767 permits issued in 2020.

https://madeinwelland.ca/MultiMedia/...ws20220110.asp

Wow, Welland had 759 new dwelling unit starts in 2021. For a city of currently ~56,000 (and seen as "less desirable" in Niagara) that's quite a bit.

[Wigs]

tddasv, thanks for the photo update on what I assume are Niagara's tallest residential buildings.


screamingviking, wow young people can be idiots

[Wigs]

Originally Posted by Wigs

https://madeinwelland.ca/MultiMedia/...ws20220110.asp

Wow, Welland had 759 new dwelling unit starts in 2021. For a city of currently ~56,000 (and seen as "less desirable" in Niagara) that's quite a bit.

A comparison of the past


So Welland in 2009 went from ~500 total construction permits, 116 new units of residential construction and $80 Million value/yr to

2021: 1108 total permits, 759 new units of residential construction, $245 Million in value.
A mixture of single family, duplex/semi-detached, townhouse, apartment and condo.

[johnnyhamont]

Add a few more units and BP in the coming months thanks to RHI funding:




An affordable housing development to be built in Welland will cater to victims of domestic violence and Black and Indigenous people.

Everyone deserves safe and affordable housing, a place to call home, says Ahmed Hussen, minister of housing and diversity and inclusion, and minister responsible for Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. (CHMC).

In a virtual announcement Tuesday, he said the Liberal government is investing $10.5 million to create an estimated 42 affordable homes for individuals and families in Welland.

Hussen said the housing will support the most vulnerable residents, and give a fresh start to those in uncertain housing situations, experiencing or at risk of homelessness, or living in temporary shelters because of the pandemic.....

“So no one will be left behind.”

A graphic provided by the government shows a building to go up at 60 York St., behind the Provincial Offences Court on East Main Street.

https://www.wellandtribune.ca/news/n...o-welland.html

[Wigs]

johnnyhamont, Welland could probably use 10 more of those affordable housing builds minimum!

Also in Welland:
On Niagara St, address 697-699 Niagara is a 6 storey 129-unit apartment under construction of bachelor and 1 bedroom units.
Phase 2 will be a 5 storey 84 unit building.

Residents of a six-storey, 129-unit building on Welland’s Niagara Street will have access to a Tesla 3 and shared electric scooters and bicycles when they move in, says developer/builder Drew Toth.
...

“It’s been two years and working with a lot of different people,” said Toth of the project, adding Phase 2 will see a five-storey building with 84 units.

He said the design of the buildings is based on the greatest need in Niagara — purpose-built rentals for single units.

“The majority of the units will be bachelor and one-bedroom. The building is also the first Smart One technologies building in Niagara.”

https://madeinwelland.ca/MultiMedia/...20211115-1.asp

[johnnyhamont]

Originally Posted by Wigs

Also in Welland:
On Niagara St, address 697-699 Niagara is a 6 storey 129-unit apartment under construction of bachelor and 1 bedroom units.
Phase 2 will be a 5 storey 84 unit building.

render of that one:

[megadude]

I took my little boat alongside that shipwreck before while I was fishing Jordan Harbour. Water was nice and clear and sun was out so I could see the unique habitat surrounding the ship. Lots of bass and koi. And I wouldn't be surprised to find multiple other species co-existing with them. The dirty harbour itself has lots of carp and big channel cats too. Certainly an interesting stretch of water. One side of the QEW is shallow and muddy while the other, on the lake side by the marina, is clear and deeper. That shipwreck adds to the uniqueness of it all. Would be a shame to see it go.

[Psychedelic Sailor]

Downtown Ridgeway is getting a bit of an extension. While mostly commercial storefronts, the shopping district along Ridge Road still has a handful of residential houses dotted along the street. One of the last remaining houses was sold recently, with the new owner working quickly to convert the front of the property to the more common commercial property found in downtown Ridgeway.

JUST THE FACTS:

-Property located at the north end of Ridge Road near the end of the commercial strip

-Two side-by-side storefronts being built

-Expected to be finished by spring



https://www.niagarafallsreview.ca/lo...mended_for_you

[johnnyhamont]

Originally Posted by tddasv

Progress on the tallest buildings in St. Catharines (21-storeys)

March 2022 update:


https://www.stcatharinesstandard.ca/...on-crisis.html


https://www.stcatharinesstandard.ca/...expansion.html

[johnnyhamont]

Originally Posted by tddasv

More details on Carlisle Suites (downtown St. Catharines) available:

-19 storeys
-220 dwelling units (180 1-bedroom, 40 2-bedroom). It appears that 28 of these rooms (the whole 2nd floor) will be used as student dormitories, perhaps for nearby Brock University downtown campus.
-3 commercial units (all ground floor)

March 2022 update from Toronto Star:




Anyone travelling in downtown St. Catharines near the bus terminal may notice a large crane.

The tower crane at its full height is 235 feet, and it’s assembling the new 18-storey apartment building at 57 Carlisle St.

Developer Nick Atalick from Nickel Development has been working on plans for what will be called “Carlisle Square” for more than five years.

At the groundbreaking for the building in September, Atalick said his family has a long history in downtown St. Catharines, as his father ran Homestead Bakery downtown 70 years ago.

Atalick also redeveloped the old Leonard Hotel into Carlisle Suites, the part-residential, part-restaurant buildings that faces St. Paul.

What we know so far about this new building:

• The 228-unit building will be built over the next 10 to 12 months

• The units will be rentals

• The new building will have two levels of underground parking

• The main floor will be for commercial use, including a small grocery store, internet café, and health and wellness store

• The next 17 levels will be residential

• The top-floor penthouse suite will include a gym

...

Not sure I've seen the latest render for this project here yet either so posting here:

[tddasv]

The site is at the intersection of Scott & Geneva in St. Catharines.

Source: City of St. Catharines

More info: NiagaraDev