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Posted May 11, 2016, 5:25 PM
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Registered User
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Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: Windsor, On.
Posts: 1,862
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Loop renovation given a go.
So whatever went on behind the scenes with the Mayor and Mr. Tam apparently everything has been ironed out and he is set to begin his renovations of the former Loop complex.
My favourite part of all?? Originally he said he was going with stucco, but now it seems he's going with reclaimed brick which is a much better fit for the building.
source: http://windsorstar.com/news/local-ne...chatham-street
Henry Tam and Jim Williams (right) discuss plans for the former Fish Market in Windsor on Tuesday, May 10, 2016. Tam is hoping to have his food court concept up and running in as little as four months.
An architectural rendering of 156 Chatham St. W. is pictured in this rendering by Baird AE Inc. COURTESY OF BAIRD AE INC. / WINDSOR STAR
The preliminary layouts for the first and second floors of 156 Chatham St. W. is pictured in this preliminary floor play by Baird AE Inc. COURTESY OF BAIRD AE INC. / WINDSOR STAR
Quote:
After an on-again, off-again relationship with city hall, Chatham Street champion Henry Tam is definitely on again.
Following a positive meeting Tuesday with city officials, the Toronto-based developer said he’s now fully onboard with making Chatham Street thrive once more.
And maybe a lot more of downtown, too.
“We’re buying up the whole town,” a visibly encouraged Tam said. “I’m feeling good. Absolutely the best.”
Tam said he’s interested in buying and developing even more city-core buildings, but “for Windsor prices, not Toronto prices.”
“Anybody who wants to sell their old buildings, talk to us,” said Tam, who has made successful investments in places like P.E.I. and Edmonton in the past. “Chatham Street will turn around.”
His Re/Max real estate agent Jim Williams sees good things ahead, courtesy of someone willing to put both money and style back into Chatham Street — once an area that was bustling with restaurants and bars.
“We’re blessed to have Henry,” said Williams, a Windsor real estate agent for 40-plus years. “He has the wherewithal and the gumption to come forward and put his money up and start to make it all happen. So he’ll be a catalyst for the renaissance of downtown.”
Williams said he will start looking for tenants, retail and residential, for Tam’s properties.
Tam has bought the former Loop, Pour House and Plunkett’s buildings. The anchor of his development plans, however, is 156 Chatham Street West, built in 1912 as the Universal Car Agency. He intends to jazz up the exterior with reclaimed brick, provide some garage doors to open onto the street, and use the first floor for The Market food court, possibly with national brands.
The second floor, however, will turn into 12 modern apartments, with air conditioning and, a rarity for downtown, two bedrooms apiece with their own ensuite bathrooms. In fact, he will create a total of 26 upscale apartments in his three buildings, for estimated monthly rental rates of between $1,200 and $1,500 per unit.
Tam bought the three Chatham Street buildings last summer for between $1 million and $2 million each, but never proceeded with his rejuvenation plans because he couldn’t get proper city approval. City hall officials say the problem was they had two sets of drawings from different architects and didn’t know which one to use.
But that was all sorted out Tuesday. Tam is using David Pistagnesi with Baird Architecture and Engineering, and shooting for a stylish, mostly residential transformation of his adopted street.
“Everything went very smooth,” Tam said about the city hall meeting. “They supported us 100 per cent.”
Tam hopes to start interior demolition within a week and exterior work within three, when proper permits come through. He hopes to complete his renovations within four months, if all goes well.
“We’re really excited about his rendering, which is an appropriate restoration of that heritage building,” city planner Thom Hunt said. “We’ve often said that to get the foot traffic downtown and to animate the street life you need residences. So his plan adds to that.”
Chatham history
The building at 156 Chatham St. started life in 1912 as the Universal Car Agency, a showroom for Ford, Russell and Cadillac models, as well as a service garage. In 1924 it became Baum and Brody Furniture. More recently, the building has served as a succession of entertainment venues, including the Fish Market, Coach & Horses, The Loop, and Pogo’s.
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