City Centre Condominiums (Dntn Kitchener, Andrin, 3 + 12 + 18s, Quadrangle)

[unimaginative2]

FIRST GLIMPSE AT PLANS FOR CENTRE BLOCK

Kitchener reveals only one firm is bidding for a shot at redeveloping the beleaguered downtown lot. The company behind the Kaufman Lofts is now hoping to extend its success to a second local site

TERRY PENDER



ANDRIN LIMITED
Andrin Limited will unveil a model of its proposal for Centre Block on June 25. A preliminary illustration of their concept (above) was included in their Expression of Interest submitted to city council. The concept includes: 1. 18-storey condominium (corner of Young St. and Duke St. W.) 2. Live/work spaces with green roof (left and right of condominium) 3. Boutique hotel and spa (corner of King St. W. and Young St.) 4. Privately owned building (King St. W.) 5. Street level retail with residential units




KITCHENER

Kitchener City Hall

Centre Block



KITCHENER (Apr 24, 2007)

The company that brought the Kaufman Lofts to the downtown has unveiled plans worth $100 million for the redevelopment of Centre Block.

City officials announced yesterday that Andrin Limited of Brampton is the only firm in the running to redevelop the city-owned lands bounded by King, Young, Duke and Ontario streets.

The Andrin proposal calls for constructing new buildings along the edge of the block, and putting a large courtyard and park behind the structures.

There will be an 18-storey condominium building near Duke and Ontario streets, and a 12-storey condo building near King Street West.

The Mayfair building will be renovated and turned into a boutique hotel.

"We are very excited about it, and we hope the people of Kitchener are excited too," Andrew Smith of Andrin said.

Andrin proposes to build 400 residential units including lofts, affordable condominiums, family-oriented dwellings and penthouses.

There will be retail outlets along King Street, live-work spaces along Duke and Ontario streets and a multi-level underground parking garage with 750 spaces.

Live-work spaces are commonly used by artists and craftspeople who live in one part of the unit and work in the other.

"We are very keen on the area in terms of a market for condominiums," Smith said.

Andrin is spending more than $20 million to convert the old Kaufman factory into 270 condominiums. The units sold out within months of going on sale.

The success of that project caused the company, which has extensive experience in urban, mixed-use redevelopments, to push very hard for the work on Centre Block.

"We're ecstatic," Smith said.

During a city council meeting on June 25 the company will unveil a scale model of its proposals.

Public consultations will be held for at least six weeks after that meeting, and there may be some design changes as a result of the feedback.

Public comments will be sought through a website, city publications, a dedicated-phone line and meetings.

It will be September or October before councillors will actually vote on whether to partner with Andrin to revitalize the moribund block. If councillors ultimately go with the Andrin proposal, construction could begin in spring 2008. The project would be completed in three phases and take up to four years.

For years the city has looked for a developer willing to take on this project, and senior staff were smiling wide yesterday.

"From my perspective, it meets everything we were looking for, and we have been looking for five years," said Carla Ladd, the city's chief administrative officer.

After learning that a pornographic movie house was going to open along the King Street portion of the block in the late 1990s, the city spent about $9.1 million to assemble 1.2 hectares (nearly three acres) of land and several buildings on Centre Block.

In 2002, city officials sought development proposals from the private sector, but rejected the four it received because none was willing to redevelop the entire site.

That Andrin Limited wants to take on the project is good news to Ladd because the firm already knows downtown Kitchener intimately.

"I'm thrilled," Ladd said.

"I don't think we could have found a better potential proponent."

Andrin has retained Quadrangle Architects Ltd. of Toronto for the project. Quadrangle did the work on the CHUM building, SixtyLoft, the Candy Factory Lofts and the Morgan Condominiums, all in Toronto.

Andrin has several large projects under its belt, including the Beach Club in Hamilton, Applewood Gate in Brampton and South Side in Dallas, Texas.

Rick Haldenby is the director of the University of Waterloo's school of architecture and a member of the committee that will negotiate with Andrin to refine its proposals. The Centre Block evaluation committee must negotiate an agreement with Andrin and then seek the approval of councillors this fall.

If Andrin gets the green light, the city will transfer title to the lands to the company once the entire project is built to the city's specifications.

Andrin's track record in downtown Kitchener and elsewhere gives Haldenby a lot of confidence in the proposals.

"I'm pretty sure this will go ahead," he said.

Haldenby likes the idea of constructing new buildings around the edge of the property and placing a courtyard and park in the centre.

"As an urban-design strategy it is very sound," Haldenby said.

The city originally received three responses to its call for expressions of interest in redeveloping Centre Block. The other two firms, the Windmill Group of Companies and Morguard Investments, both pulled out of the competition leaving Andrin as the sole contender for the ambitious project.

Andrin will be paid $75,000 by the city to develop detailed plans and a scale model of the proposals that can be used in public consultations.

"At the end of the day the city is free to say no to the proposal," said Rod Regier, the city's executive director of economic development.

But at this stage, Regier and the other city officials involved are optimistic.

"They've got the goods to pull this off," Regier said of Andrin.

"We are delighted. It's very exciting."

tpender@therecord.com

CENTRE BLOCK

Andrin Limited will unveil a model of its proposal for Centre Block on June 25. A preliminary illustration of their concept (above) was included in their Expression of Interest submitted to city council. The concept includes:

1. 18-storey condominium (corner of Young St. and Duke St. W.)

2. Live/work spaces with green roof (left and right of condominium)

3. Boutique hotel and spa (corner of King St. W. and Young St.)

4. Privately owned building (King St. W.)

5. Street level retail with residential units above and green roof (King St. W., closer to Ontario St.)

6. 12-storey condominium (near Ontario St.)

7. Courtyard and park (centre of the block)

 

[unimaginative2]

Downtown Revitalization in Kitchener

Tuesday, June 26, 2007 | Updated at 7:20 AM EDT


CENTRE BLOCK RENAISSANCE
Construction on first phase of developer's vision could start next year
TERRY PENDER


Details of Andrin Limited's plans for downtown Kitchener's Centre Block were displayed at City Hall last night. The first phase, shown in this artist's rendition, includes a three-storey building along King Street, with some retail and living space.



DAVID BEBEE, RECORD STAFF

Kitchener city councillors Kelly Galloway and Berry Vrbanovic look over the scale model of the Kitchener downtown Centre Block redevelopment. Councillors and the public had their first look at the plans last night.



HANDOUT PHOTO

This aerial view of the artist's conception shows a 12-storey condo tower fronting along King Street (on the left) and a water feature and courtyard (centre) and a 18-storey condo tower in phase two, in the upper right, at the corner of Young and Duke streets. Nearly the entire site will sit on top of three floors of underground parking.


KITCHENER (Jun 26, 2007)

Peter Smith is willing to bet about $90 million that a moribund chunk of city-owned land in the core can be transformed into a vital and thriving collection of condominiums, retail outlets, specially designed units for artists and a central courtyard.

Smith is the president of Brantford-based Andrin Limited, the developer who wants the nod from city council to redevelop the 2.6 acres of publicly owned land on the Centre Block, which is bounded by King, Young, Duke and Ontario streets.

Yesterday, the public consultations began when a detailed model of the proposed development was made public in the City Hall Rotunda. Dozens of curious citizens studied the model and illustrations around the room.

Smith's company converted the Kaufman building into 270 condominiums -- that project is worth nearly $40 million.

"We responded to this proposal call because of the success of Kaufman," Smith said in an interview prior to his presentation to city council yesterday evening.

The Kaufman project sold out in a matter of months and the first residents started moving in a few weeks ago.

The success of Kaufman "demonstrated to us that Kitchener is ready for downtown living," Smith said.

"We also feel positive about the marketplace. We wouldn't go into this if we didn't think we could market these units," Smith said.

"We feel pretty confident there is an appetite in downtown Kitchener for revitalization," Smith said.

In a perfect world, Smith said construction could begin in the fall of 2008 on the first phase, which includes a three-storey building along King Street with some retail and live-work units for artists. Behind that will be a condo tower with 12 floors and the underground-parking garage. That first phase will have 156 units.

"While we are doing that we would market phase two, and our plan on phase two is to start that roughly in 2009," Smith said.

The second phase includes an 18-storey condo tower and a three-storey building that wraps around both Young and Duke streets.

The second phase includes about 270 units.

"The third phase is the redevelopment of the Mayfair Hotel, and the building next door and we see that roughly in the 2011 time frame," Smith said.

"So basically, we are looking at five to six years for total build out," Smith said.

The units will sell for about $300-per-square foot.

That compares with about $270-a-square foot for the last units sold at the Kaufman Lofts.

"So if you said a unit had 600-square-feet, that would be $180,000," Smith said.

"It won't be cheap, and obviously we have to respect what the marketplace can afford," Smith said.

Andrin Limited has hired Quadrangle Architects of Toronto to design the new Centre Block.

That's the same architectural firm that did the Kaufman Lofts, and has worked on several signature buildings in downtown Toronto, including the St. James Condominiums, the Candy Lofts, the Chocolate Factory Lofts and the CHUM-TV building.

For about seven years, Centre Block has been little more than a litter-strewn parking lot.

It cost the city about $9.1 million to assemble the land, buy several buildings and compensate owners for the loss of their businesses.

Public consultations will run until Aug. 3, and then the developer, architect and the city's selection committee will refine the design before coming back to city council this fall for final approval.

Rick Haldenby, the director of the University of Waterloo's school of architecture sits on the committee that will make a final recommendation to the city this fall on whether to proceed with the development.

"I think it's a pretty successful and intelligent-looking project," Haldenby said of the proposed design.

Both the developer and the architects have already demonstrated they are willing to incorporate suggested changes to their design, Haldenby said.

"It's an urban block, and I've thought all along the right way to handle it is to build out to the streets and create a space in the middle of the block," Haldenby said.

The two condo towers have features that reference the award-winning design at the City Hall on the next block.

"The towers are articulated forms, they are not just blobs or rectangular blocks, and they have a kind of conversation with the City Hall, which I think is quite thoughtful and clever," Haldenby said.

Les Klein is one of the principals at Quadrangle Architects.

"It's a solid approach to all the things the city has set out as principles, and that we heartily endorse -- the notion of creating streets that are pedestrian friendly, supporting the fabric, vocabulary and life along King Street," Klein said.

Klein said everyone the team spoke to believes the time has come for a boutique hotel in the old Mayfair building.

Klein said there will be 250 parking spaces for the public on the first level of the underground garage.

The two floors below that will have 500 parking spaces for the condo owners.

"I think, for us, the most important thing is the citizens of Kitchener feel it is their project as well," Klein said.

"Its success is dependent on the people of Kitchener embracing not only the commercial value, but the civic value we are hoping to inculcate in this project," Klein said.

Glenn Woolner is a Kitchener resident with a long-standing interest in the redevelopment of Centre Block, and the intensification of the downtown.

"I think my first impressions are very positive," Woolner said.

Thomas Seebohm, who teaches at the University of Waterloo school of architecture, was equally impressed with what he saw last evening.

"I like the fact the tall buildings are not just boxes, but they have style," Seebohm said.

"Overall, I'm quite impressed with how it's going to look and how it's going to work," Seebohm said.

In the centre of the block, a courtyard-park with a water feature will be built. Pedestrians will get into this through a grand staircase and gallery off King Street.

Off of Young Street, there will be a covered staircase leading into the courtyard, and from Duke Street, people will be able to walk through a short tunnel into the heart of the development.

"It will be an asset for the people living there, and as an oasis in the city," Seebohm said.

If yesterday's reaction to the model is any indication there will be little or no opposition among city councillors when a vote is held in a few months.

The block is located in Coun. John Smola's ward.

"It's exactly what we need in the downtown, that's what we are trying to do -- get more residential," Smola said.

"What I've seen so far is exactly what the whole plan for the downtown is about," Smola said.

Added Coun. Kelly Galloway: "I think the new proposal for Centre Block is great. I think it incorporates a lot of wonderful aspects that will improve the downtown."

Galloway particularly likes the rooftop gardens that will go on some of the buildings.

John MacDonald is a local architect who listened carefully to the developer's presentation to city council after studying the model.

"I'm a little disappointed at the scale of the retail associated with it, there is only about 7,000 square feet of retail," MacDonald said.

MacDonald was one of the few wondering about the financing behind the development.

The city has already spent $9.1 million on the project. It spent more to demolish the historic Forsyth factory and build a parking lot in its place.

Earlier, the city was going to transfer ownership of the land and buildings to a developer who agreed to build an underground-parking garage on the site with some public spots.

At this point, it's not known if the city will transfer ownership of the land in exchange for the parking spots, or if city council will buy or lease the spaces.

"My understanding is it may not be clear at this point what the financial deal is," MacDonald said.

"What exactly is the deal here?" MacDonald said.

"We want to get public opinion at this point, but do we have all the information?" MacDonald said.

After listening to the developer's presentation Coun. John Gazzola had finances on his mind as well.

Gazzola wanted to know if the details of the financing would be made public during the public consultations.

Rod Reiger, the city's director of economic development, said negotiations between the developer and city will be held in August to reach an agreement on the financials.

"We will be bringing that information to council in the fall," Reiger said.

tpender@therecord.com

More Renderings

 

[interchange42]

There is still nothing going on at this site - it's till just a parking lot, but developer Andrin Homes does have a website up and running for registering.

42

 

[interchange42]

As mentioned in the first post in this thread, Andrin Homes, not well known here on UrbanToronto, is also resposible for the sold-out conversion of the Kaufman Lofts building in downtown Kitchener.

Quadrangle handled the architectural work for this 6 storey building on King at Victoria, kitty corner from Hariri Pontarini's new U of Waterloo Pharmacy building.

Andrin is currently preparing to launch The Berwick soon in Toronto, at Berwick and Duplex, southwest of Yonge and Eglinton.

42

 

[sharon.green]

City Centre Condominiums is going to be such a great asset to the downtown core of Kitchener! Their sales centre is almost complete and from the looks of it should be opening soon.

 

[condovo]

Well done, Kitchener!

 

[sharon.green]

Floor plans!

The sales centre at City Centre condominiums is quickly underway but sales staff are already SELLING UNITS! Take a look at some of their floor plans to see the spectacular living space you can experience right in the downtown core!

 

[sharon.green]

New website is up for City Centre! http://www.liveatcitycentre.ca/

Their Grand Opening is THIS Saturday Feb. 26th!! Can't wait to see all their model suites...

 

[SP!RE]

.

 

[sharon.green]

Love the rendering of the City Centre building, wish we could see the whole thing though!

 

[sharon.green]

City Centre's Model Suite!

A new pic of City Centre's model suite was posted!

 

[jswag]

What a great project this will be for downtown Kitchener. Swallows a giant parking lot on King Street, and brings all kinds of new residents to the core. Really, the conflation of the province's Places to Grow strategy and other municipal policies encouraging growth for the core.

Although you can bet the developers and potential buyers are REALLY hoping for LRT. Without it this project becomes way less attractive as a long-term investment.

 

[urbandreamer]

Although the real question should be--why was the original building on this site knocked down when it would've made an incredible loft conversion with perhaps a Momentum Dev's RED-styled addition?

There's thousands of parking lots across K-W that could handle this proposal, but along historic King St it just doesn't fit in.

Another huge concern is the builder--they're known for building garbage monstrosities in London Ontario.

 

[Rowe]

So excited for this.

 

[Duke-of-East-York]

There's thousands of parking lots across K-W that could handle this proposal, but along historic King St it just doesn't fit in.

Another huge concern is the builder--they're known for building garbage monstrosities in London Ontario.

A large part of the site is a parking lot.

And for the builder - do you mean Auburn building garbage monstrosities like The Renaissance in London? City Centre in Kitchener is being built by Andrin, not Auburn. I can see where the confusion came from though as they kinda sound similar.