Owen Sound City Hall. (photo by Matt Hermiz/Bayshore Broadcasting)
Owen Sound’s annual report on development is in, and it was a busy year for building in the Scenic City.
The city’s chief building official presented an annual development update to the community services committee at its meeting on Wednesday.
Owen Sound’s total construction value in 2022 topped $43.7-million, an increase of nearly 20 per cent over 2021.
The city also saw the number of building permits increase last year. There were 338 issued, compared to 273 in 2021.
“We’re starting to get to where we want to get to,” says Owen Sound Mayor Ian Boddy. “To build an economy you’ve got to have industry. To have industry you’ve got to have labour. To have labour you’ve got to have housing.”
“Getting some housing started and knowing that there’s some coming in the next couple of years with some of the other developments in the area in the planning stages,” continues Boddy. “We’re in good shape and it helps us to attract new industry.”
Several major projects were completed in the city last year.
Some of the larger institutional ones were Southbridge’s 160-bed long-term care home on 16th Avenue East and Owen Sound Gardens’ 126-unit retirement facility on 14th Street East.
Work also began on Grey County’s 12-bed transitional housing facility on 14th Street West and on Grey Bruce Health Services’ wellness facility at the former Bayview School property on 6th Street A East.
Among the many commercial developments which had permits finalized in 2022 were several restaurants at Heritage Grove Plaza on 16th Street East, including Bar Burrito, Firehouse Subs, Burger King and Wing’n It.
Permits were also issued for a new Thompson Centres plaza on the north side of 16th Street East which will house a McDonald’s and Mary Brown’s restaurant.
The city had 124 new residential units constructed in 2022. That is the second-highest on an annual basis since 2015.
More than $450,000 in development charge exemptions were granted to builders of purpose-built rentals — an incentive tied to the construction of 93 units in Owen Sound in 2022.
One of the major residential projects completed last year was Odawa Heights, a 60-unit affordable housing project on 9th Avenue East.
While the report says a new five-storey building on 28th Street West will create 79 apartment units.
The annual development update also includes an overview of some of the ongoing projects in Owen Sound.
It says API Investments will begin construction on a six-storey, 100-room hotel on 16th Avenue East. Andpet Realty is expected to completed its work on a residential subdivision on 14th Street East. And progress is expected to continue on Planning Act applications from SkyDev (former RCA property/East Bayshore Road) and Flato (south of 8th Street East), who are proposing hundreds of new residential units in their respective apartment and housing developments.
“This is what we’ve been working on for years, and we’re starting to get it going,” Boddy says. “We’re pretty happy with regard to residential development.”
