Wyndham Street tenants get cash to vacate apartments

It seems tenants of the apartments above the old Wyndham Art Supplies store have been quietly been getting pushed out so the owners can ensure it's empty before the city buys it in a couple of months.

I've spoken to one tenant who confirmed he received $1,000 plus forgiveness of his $550 February rent if he agreed to be gone before March 1.

Property standards and accessibility issues could have proven problematic if there were still residential tenants there when the building became city-owned.

A city official told me today the city "isn't directly involved at all" with the tenants getting the cash-wrapped boot, but conceded the offer to purchase is based on the building being empty.

We'll have more in the paper Wednesday.

Comments

[Edward Pickersgill]

Likely be the same scenario for the apartments at 148 Wyndham St. N.

[Edward Pickersgill]

Approximately 30 apartments in the downtown core renting at between $550 and $750 constitute a major component in our community's stock of affordable residences. There are supposed to be municipal policies and controls to protect the stock of affordable rental accommodation. More specifically there are supposed to be official plan level policies preventing the conversion of rental residences into condominiums. The city position is that removing these 30 rental apartments and replacing them in the same development with 200 to 300 condominiums does not breech the policy because the 30 will not be converted but rather will be destroyed (demolished).

With stick handling like this Canada would not have been defeated by the U.S. in the first round of the current winter Olympics.

The Wellington Guelph Housing Committee has lobbied the city on behalf of saving the Wyndham Street apartments, obviously to no avail. The apartments had never been condemned by the city nor judged to be inadequate for rental accommodation.

There has to be a better solution than having these apartments sit vacant for five or six years while the city attempts to line up financing for the new library and the condo development. At a bare minimum there should be a clear commitment to dedicate 30 residential units in the new Baker Street development to affordable rental units managed either by Guelph Non-Profit Homes or by a new housing co-op or by some other body with commitment to the principles of affordable residential housing.

That the city's library strategy is proving effective does not nor should not trump its affordable housing responsibilities.

[Bill Dunlop]

While I'm tempted to agree with you Edward on principle, the media reports that these apartments do not meet health and safety or fire code standards. They may be affordable, but if they are not safe, is it really wise to allow people to continue to live in them? We definitely need more affordable housing in Guelph, no argument there. Perhaps this will bring the need to light. Or perhaps there should be some incentive in place to get other downtown building owners to convert their empty upper floors to housing.

[Stinky-Winky]

Bill Dunlop:Have a closer examination of the council's disregard for support to affordable housing and if it wasn't for the County's management of social/affordable housing where would those in need live?Remember that to allow apartments to be converted to condominiums requires a vacancy rate of 2.5% or higher and current rate is approximately 4%(+/-)-watch out for more reduction in "affordable" housing.

[Bill Dunlop]

But isn't that the crux of the city-county tension?? The county social services department is responsible for social housing. Are you suggesting the city take it over? (a good idea actually) Most of the new housing units have been built in Fergus lately. Maybe if the city was in charge, there would be more built. But social housing is different from affordable housing. There's a new affordable housing project being built over on Mountford Drive in the east end.

[Ray Mitchell]

These apartments are among the safest and cleanest in the downtown core, owned by a construction company that was constantly there, working on painting etc. They are safer by far than anything on Willow Rd., at about 2/3 of the rent. The only reason for the evictions is that it is illegal for any city-owned property to not be handicap-accessible. This is an onerous by-law that penalizes the able-bodied while at the same time doesn't benefit the handicapped. With loss of rent/income potential, the carrying costs of purchase and the the loss of municipal taxes, this block at the end of the day will be costing the taxpayers upwards of $1,000,000 a year to sit empty. Not to mention the hardship of poor tenants being evicted into a more expensive future in the middle of the winter, and the economic loss that their leaving brings to the immediate area. Way to go city council!

[Edward Pickersgill]

I recommended earlier that this purchase could be done under the auspices of a special new city owned corporation. I've also mentioned to the city that there are some of us out here who could manage such a property on a non-profit basis until such time as the Baker Street parking lot conversion commences, as we do already for certain properties which may some day be demolished for construction of Hanlon Parkway overpasses.

[kheimbuch]

One thing I don't get - how come the rents in Guelph seem to be so much higher than in surrounding cities like Hamilton, Kitchener, Waterloo and Cambridge? Those places have similar, if not greater demand and the housing stock is pretty much the same all over.

[Ray Mitchell]

I helped Victor move out of his apartment last night, so at least he doesn't think that everything Guelph sucks, just 99% of it. And, in an interesting aside, when he first balked at moving, the landlord wanted to know his ethnicity.

Nice.

[Frank P]

This is becoming more and more common I have heard.

[Nina Menard]

I very much miss some of the old stores that were vacated on this Wyndham Street Block, and understand that the city has bought this entire strip. I am understanding that the redevelopment for the future library will be postponed due to city budget shortfall. What bothers me is, as I walk along this side of Downtown Guelph, how long will we (I) have to walk through this ghost town and remind ourselves(myself) that the tenants could have remained until such time of redevelopment and demolition.
So now my question is: why are these buildings sitting empty now? Will they be demolished soon (heaven forbid, more messes) or can these empty spaces not be utilized for the good of the community?
Even the Friends of Library are not having their sale there, as they did in the past. Could this space not be used for the arts community, for temporary spaces during festivals, and/or the homeless on cold nights? Or will this be a haven for rats or any other rodents, pests and cobwebs?
What is getting in the way of utilizing this wasted space? Is there demolition coming soon or not? With all these big box stores, why on earth not an old fashioned hardware store? when's the last time I ever saw a hardware store downtown?
The city needs revenue..is this a wise way to produce revenue? I'm sure the rats will not provide it.
SOMETHING MUST BE DONE! Please no glitzy condos....re:http://news.guelphmercury.com/article/528131

[Rob B.]

Funny you mention that Nina, those of us old enough to remember will recall that "an old fashion hardware store" is exactly what occupied one of the now empty units. You've just sent me down memory lane on what the core used to offer and yes, it was a pleasant trip.
Thankyou

[Bill Hulet]

Nina:

Like Rob, I remember the old hardware store downtown. I had a long yack with the last owner before he shut down. The problem with the hardware business is that the service side of the industry has been separated from the side that brings in the revenue. He said that people would go to the big box stores to buy power tools because they can sell them a lot cheaper, but came to him for their bolts, nails and screws---where he had much better service.

I suppose I'm just as bad as anyone else---I bought my skill saw and drill from Sears, and my power sander from Canadian Tire. But there is an "old time" hardware store in Guelph. It's in the Grange Plaza---which incidentally is an excellent place to shop with various really good independent stores such as "Planet Bean", a great "you brew" wine store, and a very good "family" restaurant.

That mall has many of the same elements as a thriving, old-fashioned downtown. Its only problem is that it has far too much parking and no apartments over the top of the stores.

If you want to support a good hardware store, go to the Grange Plaza. I do, and its a 15 minute bike ride from home.

[Marilyn Shapka]

For those of us in the south end, there's a wonderful hardware store - Campus Home Hardware. It used to be in the Campus Estates Plaza but is now just south of Kortright Road on Gordon Street. Same staff has served us well there for over 20 years.

[Edward Pickersgill]

Looks like the spammers have this Mercury blog in their cross hairs.

[N Menard]

What brought me to thinking of the downtown hardware store, is the one in downtown Markham back in the eighties. It was not what you call, big box savings or selection. It was more about having a personal rapport with a local business, supporting a local business, chatting it up with the owner/manager...not every person ventures far from the downtown area. I would compare it to the handyman's haven or version of our local farmer's market...
Well...has this idea gone by the way of the DO DO BIRD?

I miss that era. of downtown life, and that is why I cringe at the thought of super structures and glitz replacing the vacated premises between the old post office and cowboy bar.....just wish that certain folks weren't so trigger happy to vacate, demolish and replace....

No spam intended....

[rent barcleona apartments]

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[Ace Cash Express coupon]

In terms of vacating the property ahead of a sale, I think that the owners gave the tenants good compensation to move out. However, one must keep in mind that families were living there and it was their fully furnished home. Some of the tenants may have had loan commitments with their banks to cover the costs of accomodation, and some might not have the necessary funds to move house in their present state of affairs. However, when it comes to money, most owners do not care about these things.