MORRISBURG – A new 40 unit apartment building is in the works for the County Road 2 corridor in Morrisburg.
A delegation including the developer and planner was at the South Dundas council meeting October 15 to answer questions about the proposal.
South Dundas councillor Lloyd Wells did not participate in the discussions. Wells declared conflict of interest because he is the owner of the property where the development is slated to take place.
The 40 unit, 10,000 square foot, four-storey apartment building with 60 parking spaces will be located between Cassell Roofing and the McIntosh Inn. The land is located on the north side of County Road 2 between County Road 2 and Industrial Drive.
Planned access to the building will be from Industrial Drive so as to minimize the impact on County Road 2 traffic, according to Chris Clarke of Zanderplan, the project’s planner.
The location is presently zoned commercial and will have to be re-zoned for multi-residential use.
Clarke expects to submit that zoning application within the next couple of weeks.
Developer Stefano Ferrante of Multirez Capital told council his company has done a whole slew of these buildings across Eastern Ontario and that the buildings typically attract tenants who are 55-plus and often come from outside the area.
He estimates that this new building will have about 85 new residents.
“There’s not a lot of new rental stock in town,” he said adding that the rents they charge are “very attainable to the general public.”
He estimates that if everything goes well construction could start as soon as late 2020 or early 2021.
Construction from shovels in the ground to completion is about 18-20 months.
“I think this will be a great addition to the town,” said Ferrante.
“I know that South Dundas and the village of Morrisburg do need more rental property,” said South Dundas mayor Steven Byvelds.
“My concerns are some of the challenges being that close to the industrial zone and the traffic.
Ferrante said that they have done traffic and noise studies and don’t think it will be an issue.
“As long as the tenants know, we’ll be all right,” said Byvelds.
The public will have an opportunity to comment on the proposal through the zoning change process.
