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The Meridian Centre, the New Performing Arts Centre and the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts have been leading the revitalization of downtown St. Catharines. As a result of the increased confidence in the area, there are a number of new, high quality residential and commercial investments in the city.
A residential and commercial mix
The Leonard Hotel has definitely had an interesting transition in St. Catharines. What was originally a luxury, prestigious hotel, located within the downtown core of the city, soon became an eyesore in desperate need of updating.
The hotel was purchased in late 2009 for $1.8 million and has been redeveloped into an apartment complex, with a mix of small bachelor, mid-sized bachelor and one-bedroom suites aimed towards downtown office and retail workers, rather than students. The ground floor commercial component underwent some tenant improvements, and now has new exterior façade and interior finishes. No longer referred to as the Leonard Hotel, the property is now known as Carlisle Square, which reflects the commercial aspect of the building.
Recognizing the need for additional growth
At the same time as the hotel sale, there was an announcement regarding a new parking garage in the city, along with the three major developments in the downtown area.
In 2009, the Federal and Provincial governments announced $27.9 million in funding for a new parking garage on Carlisle Street, to replace the deteriorating structure. The Federal and Provincial governments contributed $9.3 million each from the Infrastructure Stimulus Fund, with the balance contributed by the City of St. Catharines. Construction of the new building was completed in January 20, 2012. The new structure provides downtown with approximately 600 additional parking spaces, with approximately 500 of the spaces above ground, with another 100 below. The structure provides easy access to the Ministry of Transportation building, located across Carlisle Street.
Attract residential, attract businesses
Part of the development plan for the city involves increasing the number of residential opportunities in downtown St. Catharines, thereby increasing the number of residents within the area and attracting additional businesses and professional services.
There have been a number of residential proposals including:
- The site of the old Hotel Dieu property on Ontario St. In January 2014, the plan for a $35 million residential condo-style development was announced.
- Air rights over a former municipal parking lot on Wellington Street were sold to Penn Terra Group, a Mississauga-based developer. This site has since been developed with a four storey, 28 unit condo apartment known as The Wellington. Each unit offers two bedrooms and two bathrooms, with recent unit sales ranging from $235,000 to $249,000, and rent rates noted as $1,500 per month. This development is very significant as it represents the first new residential condo construction within the downtown core in several decades.
Confidence in the area attracting new developers
The three major developments we previously discussed have been instilling confidence in real estate developers, both within Niagara and outside. As a result, there has been an increased interest in residential and commercial developments in St. Catharines. Eventually, the developments will attract new executives to the area to live in a progressive, modern community with quality professional arts and culture events and performances. Become involved in the revitalization of St. Catharines by connecting with a Niagara real estate appraiser.
