Construction to begin soon on 26-storey downtown rental development

More height is coming to Barrie’s downtown.

Construction is expected to begin soon on a 26-storey residential development that will bring 268 purpose-built rental units to the city.

The future development at 17 Sophia St. E., near the Barrie Public Library, has received site plan approval from the City of Barrie, with final reviews of the building permit applications nearing completion.

Michael Vani of Weston Consulting, which is representing the project, told Compass News that preliminary work at the site has essentially begun, including the demolition of existing structures and preliminary grading and earthworks.

“Construction is expected to commence imminently with the site plan now approved by the City and final review of the building permit applications being completed,” he said.

The first phase of construction will involve shoring and foundation work.

Vani said the project is expected to take approximately 1.5 to two years to complete, although the timeline will depend on seasonal conditions and the official construction start date.

In July, it was announced that the project will include 52 affordable rental apartments.

During that announcement, Mayor Alex Nuttall said he welcomed the addition of more affordable housing units as part of the project.

“This is another major step toward increasing housing supply in Barrie and giving more people the opportunity to find a place that they can afford,” he said.

Vani said the affordable units will remain affordable for a minimum of 25 years under agreements with the city.

He added that the additional purpose-built rental housing will help increase supply in the local market and improve affordability over time.

“The new purpose-built rental units will bring new supply to the Barrie market which will assist in improving rental affordability over time,” he said.

The project is being developed by Black Creek Group and Peakhill Capital.