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Economic Development News

The City of Brockville and Caber Group are pleased to announce that they have reached an Agreement of Purchase and Sale for 36-46 King Street West, the former Woolworth’s building.

The Woolworth’s property is one of the most prominent sites in Brockville’s downtown, close to the main intersection of King Street and Courthouse Avenue.  Constructed in the late 1950’s the existing building was for many years a Woolworth’s department store.  This store closed in 1993 and the property went through several subsequent owners and uses.  In 2004 the last tenant of the building left the property, and it has sat vacant since that time.

In 2019 Council set several goals for their term, which included an objective to “spur on development and consider a P3 approach to the Woolworth’s property”. Through 2019 and into 2020 the City held discussions with the then owners of the property.  The City acquired the property in December 2020 with the intention of seeing this property redeveloped to come back into economic use and to support the growth and development of the downtown.

Early in 2021 Council directed staff to undertake a Request for Proposals for the property, with the RFP being issued in April 2021.  The RFP generated interest from the development community but at the close of the RFP no formal bids were submitted.  Staff continued to work with several developers and in November 2021 three developers were invited to submit Expressions of Interest for the property.  In January 2022, two of these developers presented their proposals. Following these presentations, the City entered into an exclusive negotiating period with Caber Group.  Throughout the spring of 2022 Caber and its design partners, IDEA Inc. - Integrated Design | Engineering & Architecture and Linebox Studios, undertook preliminary design work, environmental and structural investigations, and financial modelling of their re-development concepts. 

Negotiations continued throughout the summer and earlier this month Council agreed to enter into an Agreement for Purchase and Sale of the property. The Agreement gives Caber Group up to a year to complete a Site Plan Agreement, at which time the deal will close; and following this the developer will have up to another year to commence construction.

"City Council are very pleased to make this announcement, the Woolworth’s site has been a priority for this Council and this agreement takes us one step closer to a major redevelopment of this site. The proposal Council has seen from Caber is exciting and will bring much needed residential and commercial space to our downtown." - Mayor Kalivas

"Caber Group and our design partners at IDEA and Linebox Studios are thrilled to have the opportunity to be a part of the re-animation of Brockville’s Historic District.  The Woolworth’s site provides unique potential to bring contemporary living and commercial space to downtown, while paying homage to King Street’s historical significance to the city and the Thousand Islands Region". - Josh Gibson, Caber Group

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