During a January 16 meeting, Town of Wasaga Beach councillors agreed to sell five acres of beachfront property to developer Stonebridge Building Group for $14 million.
“Stonebridge Building Group has presented the town with an offer that represents fair market value, which demonstrates that they understand the value of this land and this development for the future of our community. They are ready to get shovels in the ground on a high quality, mixed-used development,” said Wasaga Beach Mayor Brian Smith, in a statement. “All of this aligns with the Town’s plans to reinvent our main beachfront and commercial area.”
The section of land purchased by Stonebridge is across from the town’s Beach Area One and is bounded by 1st and 3rd Streets, as well as Beach Drive and Mosley Street. The development, which includes a combination of mixed-use buildings and townhouses, will total 150 residential units and 31 commercial units. Stonebridge will roll out the development in five phases with the first phase set to start this spring.
To build the units, Stonebridge has entered into a unique payment agreement with the town. Rather than pay the total sum up front for the land, Stonebridge will pay smaller sums throughout each phase, totaling $14 million over the five phases. This is because Stonebridge plans to build the units before it has committed buyers, fronting the construction costs out of pocket. Each time Stonebridge sells a unit, the town will receive a payment.
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Stonebridge will also have to provide a $100,000 deposit to cover the costs of demolishing the buildings currently on the land.
During the January 16 meeting, councillor Sasha-Rose Dileo voiced concern over the payment agreement, questioning what would happen if Stonebridge wasn’t able to sell the units.
In response, town CAO Andrew McNeill said: “[Stonebridge] has found in Wasaga Beach, buyers like to walk through a unit, see the unit, touch the unit, understand and see the finishes. And [Stonebridge has] proven that to be quite successful in the market. What this means is the entire development will move a lot quicker because [Stonebridge] has found units sell quicker when people can actually see them.”
Mayor Smith added that if units from the first phase weren’t selling, the town would retain ownership of the land set to be developed in phase two through five and could reassess the deal with Stonebridge.
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The company, however, has a successful track record with the town. Stonebridge contributed $75,000 towards the development of the town’s current beachfront redevelopment master plan. It built a home with Habitat for Humanity in Wasaga Beach, invested in mobi-mats to make the beach more accessible for mobility-challenged individuals, and provided space for the Wasaga Society of the Arts in its Wasaga Beach office.
All councillors except for Dileo voted in favour of approving the payment agreement with Stonebridge.
The Stonebridge project is the second major development project approved by council in the last year. In June 2024, council partnered with Sunray Group to build a 150-room boutique-style hotel with commercial shops, a restaurant, and event spaces over four acres of land. This project is set to be constructed next to the Stonebridge development, between 1st Street and Spruce Street.
Both developments are part of Wasaga Beach’s downtown redevelopment project, which aims to generate more jobs in town, attract new visitors, increase the percentage of overnight stays, increase spending in the town, and increase the amount of non-residential municipal taxes collected by the town.
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