New condo proposal for Wyndham Street needs 14 floors to be viable, says developer

A person exiting Tuesday night's open house for a proposed 14-storey condominium on Wyndham Street South was only half joking when they said that the developer should have set up a sales office in the room.

A number of those checking out the artists renderings and site plans at the Italian Canadian Club for the proposed development appeared to be people interested in living there.

"We like the other developments they've done and it's in a really good location," said one onlooker, who didn't want to give her name.

No formal application has yet been made to the city for the 14-story, 125-unit condo tower, which would go on a partially-empty at 71 Wyndham St. S., on the west side of the road just south of Wellington Street.

That will likely come in May, said Adam Carapella, vice-president of London-based Tricar Group.

Carapella said his family-run business sees many benefits to developing here.

"We just identified Guelph seven, eight or nine years ago as a place we wanted to be in addition to our hometown of London," said Carapella, who graduated from the University of Guelph and played football for the Gryphons.

"It's got a lot going for it obviously. It's proximity to Toronto, which is good, but it's also got its own identity as a city, it's not just a bedroom community by any means. It's got a fabric and an identity to itself."

The fact that land and property is still "fairly affordable" helps, Carapella said.

The site on Wyndham is currently zoned for up to 10 storeys and Tricar will have to get an Official Plan amendment if it wants to go higher. Tricar purchased the property from local developer Tom Lammer.

Carapella said the developer needs the building to be 14 storeys to make it financially viable, given the relatively small footprint and proximity to the river.

Bedrock issues means parking will be only one floor underground, with more parking built into the base of the building.

Tricar has already built two high-end condo buildings in Downtown Guelph, River Mill and River House, which have both sold out.

They have also applied to build a 500-unit townhouse and condo development on Gordon Street South.

If all the projects come to full fruition, that would be almost 900 condo units Tricar would have in Guelph.

Tricar builds higher-end condos.

"We're bringing a different sort of product to market. It's a larger condominium for a young professional or an empty-nester downsizer can move into," Carapella said, adding that "frees up" other housing choices down the line in the resale market.