Oakwood Townhouses Proposed to be converted to Condominiums
The property has an existing lot area of 1.58 hectares and lot frontage of 346.86 metres on Oakwood Ave. The property is developed with 11 separate buildings with a total of 60 townhouse style residential units. Surrounding Land Uses: The surrounding land uses are predominantly mixed density residential. While most of the residential uses in the general area are single and semi-detached, there are several multi-unit residential buildings in the area as well, particularly along Clarence St.
There are also several places of worship, schools and parks all throughout the area. Proposal Bernard Divona on behalf of SIREG Holdings (North) Inc. has submitted a request to convert the existing rental townhouse units located at 350 Oakwood Ave into condominium units.
The property owner, SIREG Holdings (North) Inc. (hereafter referred to as “Sireg”), is requesting a conversion of the existing townhouse complex into individual condominium units. Should City Council approve this request, each of the existing sixty units will become individually transferrable. Sireg is proposing the creation of an investment vehicle through the condominium conversion process. Sireg’s business model will allow investors to own individual dwelling units, which the current property owner (Sireg Holdings) would then rent out to tenants and manage on behalf of the investors. Sireg also said that the units would be for sale for under Page 3 $200,000/unit.
They further explain that the individual tenants would see no change to their current rental arrangement. Finally, Sireg states that over the longer term, the individual units would be upgraded and improved.
From the municipality’s perspective, other than the proposed sale price, the above noted information provided by Sireg, and their proposed business model does not factor into the recommendation made by the Planning Department. Regardless of the property owner’s stated intentions, permitting the conversion into condominium units means that the units would forever be subject to individual sale.
There would be no manner to guarantee that the units remain for rent. The recommendations contained within this report are based on the assumption that the units would eventually be sold and would one day be occupied by the owner. Condominium conversions have both benefits and drawbacks to a community. The downside is that there are rental units that are leaving the available rental housing stock.
Having less available rental units could equate to having less housing choices for renters and could result in higher rental rates over time if new rental housing stock is not being developed. However, the conversion of these units into individually owned condominium units creates home ownership opportunities that may not otherwise be available within the community.
There are a few examples of this type of housing choice elsewhere within the community. These properties seem to be successfully operating and their units often represent some of the most affordable home ownership opportunities in North Bay’s real estate market. From a policy perspective, the Official Plan permits conversion of rental units into condominium units when the vacancy rate has been above 3% for two consecutive reporting periods. As outlined in the City report, the vacancy rate has not been above 3% for two consecutive reporting periods.
However, the Official Plan provides four criteria that allows for condominium conversions when the vacancy rate is below 3%. The owner needs only to meet one of these four criteria. In reviewing the data and the proposal by Sireg, the owner does meet one of the four criteria. Sireg proposes to create affordable home ownership opportunities.
The sale price proposed by Sireg ($160,000-$170,000, depending on unit size) would be significantly lower than what has been deemed by Provincial Policy to be affordable in North Bay’s market (~$400,000). As such, Planning Services are recommending the approval of the proposed condominium conversion.
