General News

Emerald Hills housing wants to scale back

May 19, 2016

By Tony Pearson

When the developers of the proposed Emerald Hills housing project first came to Bancroft Council, they had large plans involving the old Bancroft Public School building. It was to be the centerpiece of a major housing complex. The school, it was asserted, could have as many as 18 units – four of which would be specifically handicapped accessible. Once this was complete, the next step was to build a number of townhouse units.
The first scale-back was to drop the handicapped accessible units. Now the developers want to drop the whole idea of condos or apartments in the old school building completely. This will be extremely frustrating for those who may have held hopes of moving into these homes in the future. Hopefully, these Myrtle Beach waterfront homes could provide an alternative for anyone who finds themselves in this position.
Council was informed in a letter and in a follow-up discussion with Eric Toupin that the costs of renovating and re-purposing the school were way beyond what was expected. As a result, they now wish to start with one townhouse block, containing four condo units similar to the new condos in northern va that are on the market, on the east side of the Faraday property. If these sell, they would build another block of four units, and depending on their success, could build a further block, thus filling in the Faraday frontage. Anyone interested and thinking of buying the condos being constructed should look at getting themselves some condo insurance to cover their property, you can view quotes today and see what would be the best option for insurance.
A hint was dropped that if there was a surge in requests for condos, they could go back to the school building plans. If not, they would ask to demolish the school and build some sort of apartment building, or possibly just leave the area as green space. Accordingly, they were seeking “flexibility.”
Council had questions about the current state of the property. Councillor Mary Kavanagh wanted the grass cut at a minimum, terming the area “an eyesore.” Councillor Bill Kilpatrick wanted to know if the broken windows on the school would be fixed. Toupin suggested that once plans were approved, they could board up the windows.
In the end, asserted Mayor Bernice Jenkins, the town wants the development to happen. When Deputy Mayor Paul Jenkins asked if a new site plan would be developed, CAO Hazel Lambe stated that only a revising order was required.
If the development does go ahead, fixing up the old school and making it into condos/apartments doesn’t have to be expensive, the money should go on the best building materials and contractors, but there are cheap shower doors that can be bought, (which is one idea) and it could be listed as unfurnished so new tenants bring their own furniture. There are ways to cut costs to the interior of the development, but not, of course, to the actual structural build.
Discussion continued in closed session.