Last fall, when Amit Sofer presented his blueprints for Riverwalk Condominiums along Sault Ste. Marie’s waterfront, he was warned he’d have a difficult time selling housing units based on plans alone. But six months after opening a sales office downtown, the numbers show a different story.
“We proved them all wrong, and we are 85 per cent sold,” Sofer said. “We only have five suites left out of the 40.”
It was a pleasant surprise for the Toronto-based developer, whose company, TVM Group, purchased the 20-acre waterfront property — site of the city’s former General Hospital and Plummer Memorial Hospital — for $65,000 in 2013.
The purchasing trend shows the condos are attracting a mixed demographic of seniors, who appreciate the building’s security and its proximity to downtown amenities, and professionals, who are attracted by the high-end quality of the units.
Units have high ceilings, gourmet kitchens with stainless steel appliances, in-suite laundry facilities and covered parking for most units. The building features private changerooms and showers, a modern yoga and fitness room, a wet steam room, a dry sauna, a media room, meeting rooms and office space. Tenants additionally have access to a party room overlooking the St. Mary’s River, a theatre and a media room with professional sound system, and an outdoor terrace with landscaping and a barbecue area.
Sofer said there’s a high degree of accessibility built into the building, and accessibility enhancements — seats in showers, for example — are being done at no extra charge to tenants.
“The location is so wonderful, because you can literally open the door and walk along the Hub Trail and be downtown, and enjoy all the culture of the Sault so close at hand,” Sofer said.
Whereas with some developments, clients purchase units as rental properties, in this case a high proportion of buyers are the end users, which Sofer believes will make it a very stable and quiet building in which to live.
Interior demolition is now complete, and TVM has applied for permitting to continue with construction. Site plan approval has been submitted, and Sofer expected the building permit application to go in by the end of March. He anticipates the first tenants to be able to move in by the fall.
“We would expect construction to start in May if all goes well,” Sofer said. “Remember, the building is already up, so it’s not that big of a construction job. The destruction was the hard work. The construction is the equivalent of finishing a shell that’s been up, so it should be pretty quick. It should be a six-month job.”
To date, TVM has used primarily Sault-area contractors, and will open up the tendering process to a range of contractors for the next stage of construction. Sofer is optimistic the Sault-area contractors will have better pricing, because travel and accommodation costs will not be factors.
The company already has one partnership in place with Soo Mill, which has been selected to supply all the counters and cabinetry for the building’s kitchens and bathrooms. Buyers can go into Soo Mill, sit with the kitchen designers and select their finishes for their units.
“We’ve made this kind of like building a custom house without any of the headaches,” Sofer said. “You get to make all the fun choices and not have to deal with any of the delivery details and installation and coordination.”
Sofer said he’s enjoyed doing business in the Sault, complimenting the citizens and its government, who show “a real willingness to see some interesting things happen.” A number of events hosted by TVM at its sales office — winetasting, decorating and financial planning seminars — have all been well attended, and Sofer is optimistic TVM can meet the city’s expectations for a new era of development.
“We, hopefully, can purge the reputation of out-of-town developers who have had a history of failing the Sault when we deliver this product,” he said.
The company is considering developing a second phase of the Riverwalk project, but Sofer said it’s premature to say definitively if or when that will happen.
