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Large condo/townhouse development planned for old factory site in The Ward

86-unit condo and 96 stacked/cluster townhomes eventually slated for neglected site

The old Northern Rubber Factory site in The Ward neighbourhood of Guelph is slated to get a four-storey condo and 96 townhomes.

Officially located at 120 Huron St., the property has been largely vacant for some time and was purchased last July by developer Momentum Partnership, who is doing the project in partnership with Kimshaw Holdings and the Zehr Group.

“Older buildings offer an opportunity to convert into something appealing as opposed to demolishing,” said Brian Prudham, co-founder of Momentum, a Waterloo Region-based company that has done – and is currently doing – several condominium projects in that region.

“These older buildings, these opportunities to convert a heritage building into something that will appeal to a certain demographic – there’s not that many buildings like this left,” Prudham said.

Momentum hasn’t done this type of project before, but their construction partner, the Zehr Group, has done several.

“We jumped at the opportunity,” he said.

The plan for the footprint, which totals 6.2 acres, is converting the existing factory into an 86-unit condominium. Further down the road there will be 96 townhomes – 54 stacked and 42 cluster – added, Prudham said.

All parking will be above ground.

The application will be going before Guelph City Council in the new year and Prudham said he hopes to start work on the factory by the end of 2018.

The city recently approved the company’s request to remove roughly 700 trees from the site, trees Prudham said need to be removed so that the environmental cleanup of contaminated soil on that property could commence.

The developer held an informal open house for the public at the Italian Canadian Club last week that he said was attended by around 50 neighbourhood residents.

“We were a little concerned because of the woodlot issue, but everyone was ecstatic that something was going in at the site. It’s been like that for quite some time,” Prudham said.


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Tony Saxon

About the Author: Tony Saxon

Tony Saxon has had a rich and varied 30 year career as a journalist, an award winning correspondent, columnist, reporter, feature writer and photographer.
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