Three condo buildings by North Bay’s waterfront could grace the downtown in the near future.
Following an in-camera session of a special city council Thursday night, council announced the sale of the former Kenroc site to New Vision Residences of Sudbury for $25,000.
The buildings would be built in phases at $5-million apiece.
They would house a total of 63, two bedroom units that are about 1,600 square feet in size.
The conceptual drawing of the three buildings following the council meeting show they are seven storeys in height.
However, the zoning allows for them to rise to eight storeys if that’s New Vision’s desire.
Mayor Al McDonald says before the deal can close next August, New Vision will have to do its due diligence and carry out environmental studies at its own expense to ensure the land is safe to build on.
McDonald says if for whatever reason New Vision doesn’t close the sale, the studies it undertakes would go to the city.
The city has been trying to sell the Kenroc site for 15 years and McDonald believes the city will embrace the project.
He says for years the city has been trying to get more people into the downtown and the New Vision project is a perfect fit.
McDonald also says there are several added benefits.
“The more people we bring downtown, the perception of safety goes way up,” said the Mayor.
McDonald also believes the project will trigger other development.
“If you get 100 to 125 people moving downtown, maybe it will spur a small grocery store,” McDonald said.
“It’s going to help the restaurants that are down there and it’s going to create a vibrancy.”
At this time the approximate selling price of the units hasn’t been determined yet.
However in terms of what the buildings will be assessed at, McDonald estimates the annual tax revenue to the city is about $250,000.