Duane Hicks
Those looking to sell their homes and retire into a condominium may be in luck as a new development is in the works here.
Just prior to press time today, the Town of Fort Frances officially announced interest by a private developer in a condo project.
This comes after council passed a bylaw to accept an offer to sell the riverfront property just east of the Riverwalk Condominiums during a special meeting Monday afternoon.
“The town had previously been seeking formal expressions of interest for potential development of the vacant property on the corner of Front Street and Mosher Avenue,” the town said in a release.
“To that end, the town has entered into an agreement with Mr. Robert Zanette of 1621623 Ontario Ltd. for the sale of the property for the purposes of a condominium development by the company.
“During these trying economic times, the Town of Fort Frances will do everything possible to encourage and accommodate development, whether it is housing, commercial, industrial, or tourism driven. Every economic prospect is important and the town remains ‘open for business.’
“The agreement with the developer is indicative of this commitment,” it continued.
This agreement is contingent on the pre-sale by the developer of 20 of the residential condominium units on or before June 1.
It’s believed a 24-unit dwelling, and perhaps up to 30 units, is being proposed.
“Mr. Zanette will be embarking on a marketing campaign of the units in the immediate future and further information will be forthcoming,” the press release stated.
“The Town of Fort Frances sincerely hopes the developer will be successful with the marketing campaign and the subsequent construction of the facility.”
“I think it’s great news that people are showing interest in our municipality,” Mayor Roy Avis said in an interview yesterday.
“We’re trying to accommodate them any way we can because feel there’s a need [for condo units] as the population ages in Fort Frances,” he noted.
“And also it’s a good economic stimulus to try and bring people back into Fort Frances and retire here.”
The purchase price of the property has not been revealed.
Fort Frances CAO Mark McCaig said late this morning he was not sure if that amount could be revealed at this time, but did say the “market value and market conditions were considered,” and it certainly “wasn’t given away for a dollar.”
