General Urban Kitchener Updates and Rumours

[tomh009]

The Record article points out that the Ottawa location "has been vacant since 2013. Patrick George, a well-known home builder in Kitchener whose family owns G&A Masonry in Breslau and Deer Ridge Heights Inc., bought the 1.3 hectare property in 2012. It is a high-profile location on an arterial roadway that is zoned as a mixed-use corridor by the City of Kitchener in its latest official plan. It is a short walk to the light rail train station..." Presumably potential buyers knew that and yet couldn't justify a high enough offer to outbid Wright.

The article goes on to say, "George had planned a high-density development with retail on the main floor and residential units above. But he became busy with other projects, and did not want to redevelop the property before the light rail trains start operating." Are you suggesting that the city have barred George from selling the property to potential buyers whose redevelopment plans didn't meet their standards?

Actually, the way I interpreted the article is that Wright is leasing the property, not buying it (I re-read three times and I did not spot any reference to the property being sold).  And this makes sense, George wants to wait for the LRT completion before taking on a major construction project, and in the meantime Wright can lease the property "as is" without significant renovations.