Developers are once again ready to put shovels in the ground on a new self-storage facility in Bradford, thanks to a little help from council.
Based on a deputation from Randy Shiff and Tyler Pearson, who represent the owners of 490 Holland St. W., council voted to defer almost $3.12 million in development charges (DCs) for the planned three-storey 11,724-sq.-m (126,199-sq.-ft.) Apple Self-storage facility on the property, during the Nov. 19 council meeting.
After the meeting, Shiff said the decision was “appreciated.” Both he and Pearson explained Nov. 5 that denying the deferral could have meant the end of the project.
Pearson said he would be “incredibly blunt.”
“Unless we’re able to get some type of traction with regards to this deferral request, this project is not going to move forward,” he said.
Based on the presentation, Ward 5 Coun. Peter Ferragine suggested council should approve the first of three options presented during the previous meeting in a report from Ian Goodfellow, town finance director and treasurer.
“I feel this would be good added value to our town,” Ferragine said, adding the storage facility would be a “prime opportunity” for the town to bolster the commercial-industrial tax base to reduce the burden on residents.
As a result, council approved a DC deferral agreement that would see the developers pay the town’s portion of the charges in four equal payments of about $789,000 each with:
- 25 per cent due when the first building permit is issued
- 25 per cent due upon occupancy or Dec. 31, 2025
- 25 per cent due on the third anniversary of first building permit
- 25 per cent due on the fourth anniversary of first building permit
The deal also includes interest of five per cent on the outstanding balance until paid in full, which is required by Dec. 1, 2028 at the latest.
The agreement is also to be registered on the property title, to ensure the town receives payment.
As a result, the project is now expected to “pencil out,” according to Pearson, and Shiff suggested construction could be underway sooner rather than later, weather permitting.
“At this point, we’re ready to put shovels in the ground,” he said.
Earlier in the meeting, Shiff also explained the reason the project was facing financial difficulties was because of a “markedly different” economic landscape from when the developers first performed their evaluation before acquiring the property in 2020.
Since then, interest rates, construction costs and municipal development charges have “risen substantially,” he said, and as result they needed the deferral so they can afford to get construction underway and begin generating revenue.
The deal is also expected to be good for the town, as Shiff explained their proposed facility is expected to generate about six times as much in DCs and also twice as much in property taxes compared to a typical single-storey 1,858-sq.-m (20,000-sq.-ft.) development.
While town chief administrative officer Geoff McKnight couldn’t verify the exact dollar values presented by the developers, he said the extent of the difference is likely accurate.
The developers also addressed concerns from the previous meeting that a storage facility should not be located in a “prime retail location,” with Shiff claiming it has become common over the last 10 years for storage facilities to be located in shopping plazas.
As part of that trend, he explained the developers have partnered with Apples Properties (who own and/or manage self-storage facilities) to operate facilities in downtown and midtown Toronto, Oakville, Mississauga, London, Peterborough and Richmond Hill, and also have projects under development in Barrie, Scarborough and Brantford.
The deferral only applies to the town portion, and DCs to the county of about $687,000 and to the Ontario Ministry of Education of about $101,000 will still be due once the building permit is issued, according to the report.
Council approved the site plan and zoning bylaw amendment allowing the storage facility on April 5, 2022, according to McKnight.
