Developer has big plans for East City
Ashburnham Realty eyes residential/ commercial project on Hunter Street East
A new series of four residential buildings - apartments and townhouses – are being planned for construction in 2019 in East City, across from Ashburnham Ale House on Hunter Street E.
The two first will be apartment buildings along Hunter Street. E., said developer Paul Bennett, on either side of the Rotary Trail.
Each of these will have restaurants with patios at ground level, he said, with apartments above.
Bennett said two more buildings – likely townhouse condominiums – will be built later, along the west side of the trail toward Robinson St.
Bennett, president of Ashburnham Realty, owns the vacant lot to the east of the Rotary Trail (across from the Ale House) as well as a narrow strip of land along the same side of the trail (extending almost all the way to Robinson Street).
He also owns a property to the west of the trail - a former law office that he plans to tear down to make way for the building that will flank the trail to the east.
Although the trail currently bends to avoid the law office property, Bennett said it will be realigned so it runs straight across Hunter Street E.
All the buildings will be designed by architect Michael Gallant of the downtown Peterborough firm Lett Architects.
Bennett is also planning to light up that segment of the trail, he said; currently it’s dark at night.
He said the first building, to the east of the Rotary Trail and fronting on Hunter Street, will be the largest of the four.
Bennett said the six-storey
building will have a restaurant on the ground floor, a commercial tenant on the second storey and four storeys of apartments above.
He says he already has the commercial tenants, but he didn’t mention who they are; he said they want to make the announcement.
Bennett wants to start construction next year on these two buildings, and later add another two further south along the trail toward Robinson Street.
It’s one of three forthcoming developments that Bennett has in mind: he’s also planning 100 luxury condos along Little Lake, and a building of affordable apartments south of downtown.
The luxury condos are planned for Lake and Crescent St.
Bennett owns the small yellow brick apartment building at Lake and Crescent St., diagonally across the street from the Art Gallery of Peterborough, as well as five more buildings (all south along Crescent St.)
All would be torn down for the high-end development.
The proposed condo building was also designed by Gallant, and Bennett plans to submit his plans to City Hall for approval soon.
He’s also planning a building of affordable apartments for adults at Rink St. and Olive Ave., just south of Market Plaza.
Over several years he’s bought three houses on Olive Avenue and seven on Rink Street with a view to razing them and erecting a new affordable apartment building, he said.
He's working with a local housing provider, he said, and plans to release more details soon.
In the meantime, Bennett said he’s looking forward to creating apartments in the heart of East City.
He grew up in the neighbourhood, and has long hoped to create “a little village” around the Hunter Street E. shopping area.
“East City is really special to me,” he said.