A rental program and resort hotel are still on the docket for Friday Harbour, but owners are keen to see a resort retirement home constructed on-site first.
A special meeting of Innisfil council was held recently where a public meeting took place on the matter.
Friday Harbour Resort has applied for an Official Plan and zoning-bylaw amendments to proceed with Seasons at Friday Harbour, a resort retirement home with a maximum of 155 rental suite units. The suites would be rented out on a monthly basis, ranging from bachelor to two-bedroom, some with a kitchenette, others with a full kitchen.
Plans call for the building, proposed to be built at the north end of the property along Big Bay Point Road, to be four storeys tall and serviced by underground parking. Approximately 40 to 50 staff would be required to handle the on-site amenities, which include a dining room, fitness centre and hair salon and spa, among others.
While the need for additional seniors’ housing in the community is well documented, even housing that is resort-style, a retirement complex at Friday Harbour was not envisioned through the initial planning back in the mid-2000s.
“It wasn’t a use we thought about at the time,” said Cheryl Shindruk, executive vice-president of Geranium Homes, one of the speakers for Friday Harbour during the public meeting. “With the passage of time and understanding the demographics of the resort and who’s there and not there, we came to see that this is a demographic that would be a good addition to the resort community.”
That new contemplation added a potential stumbling block for the plan, as Friday Harbour hopes to build the retirement home prior to building the planned hotel and conference centre on-site.
Staff reported Friday Harbour’s rationale for building the retirement home is as much a result of the pandemic as anything else.
“There have been constraints with the current prospect of securing commitments and delivering a hotel in the near term, in part due to challenges imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic on the hotel and hospitality sector,” staff indicated while outlining the proposed development to councillors.
But that didn’t placate the general public, as two formal written submissions received prior to the meeting called for the application to be denied until the hotel is constructed, as did many other informal emails, phone calls and personal visits received by councillors.
In particular, Deputy Mayor Dan Davidson heard most of that noise. Davidson is also a resident of Big Bay Point and is acutely aware of some of the issues facing those in the community. Replacing the 23 dead trees in the town buffer area between the resort and the homes could be a quick fix to improve the quality of life for those outside the resort, but the hotel could be a game changer.
“The Airbnb issue has been a pain… at Friday Harbour for some residences there,” Davidson said. “To get the hotel built sooner rather than later – I know the industry has flattened – would probably release some of the stress that we’ve had to endure as council from Airbnbs. We will be watching you to make sure that you follow through on the hotel.”
The potential of turning the rentals into the “party houses” that have been causing council and residents headaches throughout this term and beyond was first brought up during a line of questioning from Coun. Alex Waters, but was quickly shot down.
“There are no satellites,” said Mike Lavallée, chief executive officer of Seasons Retirement Communities.
The change in plans wasn’t a concern for Coun. Bill Van Berkel. He acknowledged this wasn’t the first time that Friday Harbour had come to council asking for a change, but said those changes were always for the better.
“I like the concept; I like the idea for seniors that they can rent, they don’t have to buy,” he said. He likened it to the seniors who travel to Florida each year, renting for a few months at a time, instead of signing a full-year lease that would sit empty for at least half a year.
“It gives something for everybody,” Van Berkel added. “It’s not just a resort for the younger people. It also becomes a resort now for anyone who really wants to be there.”
However, Shindruk did admit while “the building is designed to meet the needs of a certain demographic group that would find it appealing,” there will be no age test for renting a unit.
“There probably would be some conditions for (a 35-year-old) to want to (move-in) and for us to accept that as a residency,” said Lavallée.
As part of the pitch to get the retirement home approved, the rental program for Friday Harbour, which was mandated by the Secondary Plan for the property, is being formally delayed.
Coun. Donna Orsatti wondered what impact the delay of the rental program – scheduled to be online by the end of 2021, but now planned for March 2023 – was actually having on property owners at Friday Harbour. Despite the lack of an official rental program for the resort, as many as 150 units are available to rent at any given time on platforms such as Airbnb or Kijiji, Shindruk said.
As part of the public meeting process, town staff did not provide a recommendation to council; that will come during a later council meeting, potentially following the municipal election. Full development charges and property taxes would be collected from Friday Harbour for the project.
In the report to council, staff noted “The introduction of a retirement home to the Friday Harbour Resort introduces a broader mix of uses and residential types to an evolving mixed-use resort area.”
“The development would provide housing for older persons, specifically older renters, expanding the range, type, and tenure of housing options on site,” the report continued. “Development of the retirement home is proposed to introduce new employment opportunities. The ability of the proposed use to support the resort’s established and planned tourism attractions will be further evaluated.”
Approximately 10 residents also spoke during the public meeting, all of which were opposed to the amendments being proposed.
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