Toronto developer buys former Electrohome site in Kitchener
– from The Record today – Friday November 15, 2019
Company plans to building a mid-rise, mixed use building on the property
by Catherine Thompson Waterloo Region Record
Toronto-based Shannondale Developments has acquired the former Electrohome property on Shanley Street in Kitchener. – Brent Davis , Waterloo Region Record file photo
KITCHENER — A Toronto development company has bought the contaminated former Electrohome property
Shannondale Developments announced the purchase of the problem-plagued property on Friday morning.
It says it intends to clean up the site, and build a mid-rise, mixed-use building “to improve the site and surrounding neighbourhood.”
The first step will be to demolish the crumbling 112-year-old building at 152 Shanley St. early next year. The environmental cleanup and redevelopment will take about five years, the company said in a news release.
Shannondale is a family-owned Toronto-based real estate investment and development with experience in real estate assembly, design, development and property management.
The developer said it has reviewed a city-led vision for the property and shares the goals of that vision. The vision calls for a six-storey residential building, with retail on the ground floor and underground parking.
Shannondale said it “will continue to engage and consult with the community and other stakeholders throughout the design process.”
The city’s building official declared the neglected building unsafe earlier this year and ordered it repaired or demolished, saying it couldn’t survive another winter.
The property has been neglected for decades. The previous owners have a history of not paying property taxes or carrying out basic maintenance.
Kitchener twice tried to force a tax sale to recoup $1.2 million in unpaid property taxes, and the city has taken over sidewalk shovelling and grass cutting, adding those costs to the site’s tax bill.
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PS. If you need a refresher on the vision created in 2018 and referenced in the article, you can find it here: Electrohome site Vision
For a full history of action and inaction on this property, the City of Kitchener has an specific webiste page dedicated to it here: 152 Shanley Street
Your Midtown KW Neighbourhood 