The Fourth Avenue developments sites surrounding the hospital have recently started to take shape, some buildings are even nearing completion. These new developments will strengthen Fourth Avenue as a commercial and retail centre while offering residents new commercial possibilities and businesses Class ‘A’ office space.
Here’s a quick snapsot of Fourth Avenue's new developments.
First Place
The First Place development, which started Phase 1 of development in September 2014, has a number of buildings nearing completion. The complex will be a mix of commercial units and office space spanning 130,000 sq. ft. over 10 acres. The address is officially 300 Fourth Avenue and sits on the same side of the road as the Niagara Health System site.
Look to see new restaurants, retail stores and a bank on the property during Phase 1. Phase 2 will concentrate on building out the centre of the parcel, where a five-storey office building with 32,000 sq. ft. of professional office space will be built.
Fourth Avenue West Shopping Centre
Adjacent to First Place, at Fourth Avenue and First Street, is the Fourth Avenue West Shopping Centre development. Anchor tenant Princess Auto was the first announced occupant for the in-construction commercial centre. This site sits on over 12 acres of land and the planned retail development will include ten buildings and over 125,000 sq. ft. of space.
Phase 1 will concentrate on developing the more Eastern side of the property and Phase 2 the Western.
Branscombe Mental Health Centre
The newly under construction 50,000 sq. ft. development at the corner of Fourth Avenue and Third St. will be the new home of Pathstone Mental Health. Last Friday marked the groundbreaking ceremony for the site. The organization who is financing the build through fundraising initiatives, recently met it’s pre-construction goal of a $5 million, allowing construction to begin.
The building will cost $9 million dollar in total and will be 4-5 storeys high. Over 20,000 sq. ft. of leasable office space will be made available to other community agencies, providing an additional revenue source for Pathstone.
The 17.5 acres of land adjacent to Branscombe is also in development, although not a lot is known publicly about the build the original reports envisioned a business park that would include a medical office building for the site.
To find more information on development in St. Catharines click here to view my blog.