The Lofts at 359 Water: 2009

Below we post an article printed in the Journal Pioneer, May 29, 2009. Excitement builds at the prospect of gentrifying this beloved heritage building!

NANCY MACPHEE
The Journal Pioneer

SUMMERSIDE – The building may not be much to look at now.
But that will change this fall when the former west-end warehouse’s transformation into a million-dollar multi-unit condominium complex is complete.
Peter Brown and Mike Fraser are converting the old Co-op feed building at 359 Water St. into mid-scale condos and commercial space.
“We saw some value in adaptive reuse of the building,” said Brown.
The building’s been vacant Atlantic Co-op Country Store’s closure in July 2008.
The condo project received approval in April from the city’s planning board.
Since, the developers have stripped the structure to its “bones”.
The timber-framed two-and-a-half-storey building on the east corner of Water and Cedar streets is structurally sound, built around 1870 by local shipbuilders.
“We took off all of the additions that went up over the years,” said Brown. “We are going to retain in the interior, as much as we can, any of the exposed beams.”
The foundation, built to commercial standards in 1949, is also solid, he added.
Brown’s been involved with two other city condo projects.
Harbour Terrace, above the Journal Pioneer, was his first project and was more “upscale high-end” — in the $300,000 to $400,000 range per unit. The Suites on St. Stephen, across Second Street from Valu-foods, houses “entry-level” condos, at around $120,000 and up.
The Lofts at 359 Water is somewhere in between.
“We’re the only developers doing condominiums in Summerside. We have to provide a mid-range product, both in size and in price point,” said Brown. He sees the potential tenants as those in their 50s to early 60s.
“We see it as much more attractive to the local market who is ready to get rid of their house and the maintenance.”
At Harbour Terrace, four units are for sale while at Suites on St. Stephen, six units of the 12 units
have sold and two have offers pending.
Each 1,500-square-foot condo at Lofts of 359 Water starts at around $200,000.
When complete, the building will almost double in size to 7,500 square feet.
“We’ll be adding four dormers to the west. Then there will be a four-bay garage to the north,” explained Brown.
A single-bay garage will be added on the southeast section of the complex.
On the east, patios will face downtown with the front facing west.
The complex’s main floor will consist of residential and potential commercial space while the basement and top floor will house condos. In total, five condo units will be constructed.
It will include a geothermal heating system with compressors in each unit.
Already there’s interest in residential and commercial space.