Lone developer

Lands north of the village switch ownership

Over the last week, residents might have noticed signs going up on the outskirts of the village. The first two—advertising Katilin Corp.’s subdivision Cork and Vine—went up on Belleville Road on lands owned by Kaitlin Corp. The third was erected on Consecon Street. On lands which were supposed to house Alan Hirschfield’s Fields of Wellington subdivision, but are now advertising singles and towns by Kaitlin.

The County confirmed to the Times that the sale of the lands from Hirschfield to Kaitlin Corp. was finalized in early April. It learned of the impeding sale as part of the upfront financing letter of credit the two developers were supplying to the municipality. The upfront financing agreement requires the developer to provide a letter of credit— $1.5 million for the Kaitlin development and $2.4 million for the former Hirschfield development.

In February of 2021, Fields of Wellington had become a little closer to a reality after Council passed an Official Plan Amendment and Draft Plan of Subdivision and Zoning Bylaw Amendment. At the time, Hirschfield explained that some of the highlights would include townhouses with master bedrooms on the main floor, 1,700-square-foot detached homes with a home office, and semi-detached garages with 650- square-foot apartments above to deal with the long-term rental requirements of those who work in the community. “This allows a young family to rent the apartment in the back to someone in the community who can’t find anywhere to rent and supplement their mortgage,” Hirschfield said at the time.

The question now is whether Kaitlin Corp. will honour Hirschfield’s plans—plans approved by Council.

In 2020, Hirschfield told public meeting attendees that he and his team were dedicated to producing a liveable community in the village. “Since the inception of this project we have received only support and encouragement and relevant input from the public, from residents, from Council and staff. We feel a great deal of responsibility to produce something worthwhile in Wellington,” said Hirschfield. “We are cognizant of the fact that Wellington is a village. We are faced with a significant challenge in providing needed infrastructure for the existing village and as well for growth.”

According to Mark Kerr, Communications and Consultation Supervisor with the County, staff have been in discussion with Kaitlin Corp., and it appears there is no intention to change the Hirschfield project. “They are building what was discussed with the public and approved by Council. Any change to the project mix and design would require Council approval for the draft plan of subdivision,” said Kerr.

In the most recent plans, Fields of Wellington was to see 650 units built. Phase one would have consisted of 127 residential units, made up of townhouses, small detached family homes and bungalows. The timeline for a complete buildout of six phases would be in the 10- to 15-year range. The plan also offered an array of parkland. In August of 2020, Kaitlin Corp, made an agreement with the County to end an appeal tribunal, and move forward with the 460-unit development. The draft plan for the subdivision proposes 222 single family homes, 88 semi-detached units, 90 townhouse units and 60 apartments. Attainable or affordable housing was not specifically identified by the developer.

Mayor Steve Ferguson said he was pleased that Kaitlin plans to retain the existing design for the Hirschfield development. “It is reassuring that the developer is retaining the Fields of Wellington design concepts and that the change in ownership will have no impact on the housing proposal that Council and the community supported,” said Ferguson. “We understand that Kaitlin is considering outreach to the local community, and we look forward to that happening in the near future so that the community can better understand how the new developer intends to move this project forward.”

At the Times deadline Shire Hall spokesperson Mark Kerr provided details about the terms of the upfront development charges (DC) payable.

The Kaitlin agreement identifies 460 units in the up-front financing agreement. The Letter of Credit (LC), representing 20 per cent of the total estimated 2021 DC amount cost, is valued at $1,550,846.60. The estimated 2021 total DC amount is $7,754,234.00.

The agreement of the former Hirschfield development comprises 711 units in the up-front financing agreement. The LC, representing 20 per cent of the total estimated 2021 DC amount, is valued at $2,465,947.16. The estimated 2021 total DC amount is $12,329,735.79.

The LC amounts have been received and reflect the agreed to amount to secure allocation (allocation guaranteed for up to 18 months). Further, the municipality is guaranteed access to the LC security even if the developer doesn’t proceed.

Once they enter into a Subdivision Agreement, within 30 days, the developers are to pay 100 per cent of the DCs at whatever rate the DCs are at that time. The LC is adjusted accordingly. If they don’t proceed and the municipality determines that there is insufficient minimum pre-payment, the municipality has the ability to pull the plug on moving forward with the final servicing projects, and the LC security is used to cover the applicable costs to date.

Any costs in excess of the LC amounts would be cost recoverable through future DC payments. “This allows the municipality to move forward with the most expensive portion of the works such as the treatment plants only if there are sufficient minimum pre-payment received; therefore, we do not commit to spend until there is sufficient commitment from the developers,” said Kerr in a statement to the Times.