- What The city of Barrie, Ont., is selling its former police headquarters as a high-rise redevelopment opportunity
- Why The move is part of an initiative to sell off surplus land for housing development
- What next Hassey Realty is marketing the property
The city of Barrie, Ont., is looking to offload a municipally owned high-rise redevelopment site for $21m.
Formerly home to the Barrie Police Services headquarters, the 29-35 Sperling Drive property can accommodate three 30-storey, mixed-use towers with 1,035 residential units. Hassey Realty has the listing.
The property, along with two other city-owned sites, was selected last fall as part of an initiative to sell off surplus land for housing development. At the time, the estimated value of all three sites was $35m.
The city began the process of rezoning the Sperling Drive property earlier this year, obtaining full development approval in June. Development plans drafted by Smart Density on behalf of the city also outline 833 parking spaces and 3,400 sq m of commercial space, which can include workshop, office and small-scale retail space.
Outdoor amenity space between two of the buildings also is planned.
The site is just north of Highway 400 and less than 2 km from Little Lake. It’s also close to a number of retail plazas along Cundles Road East.
Several other high-rise residential towers have been proposed in Barrie in recent years. Roughly 300 m away at 303 Cundles Road East, three rental apartment buildings with a collective 505 units are pending development approval.
At 51–75 Bradford Street and 20 Checkley Street, SmartCentres REIT is planning five towers from 25 to 41 storeys with a mix of hotel, residential and retail space. And at 55 Dunlop Street West, developer Gary Silverberg is in the midst of building two 32-storey condominium towers.
Offers on the Sperling Drive property will be reviewed in mid-November, following a 45-day marketing period.
