Ontario Construction Report staff writer
The Town of Wasaga Beach has agreed to sell a strip of beachfront town-owned land to Bayloc Developments Inc. with Zancor as a partner.
Bayloc and Zancor plan to reinvent the waterfront properties with ground floor retail spaces and restaurants and residential units above. A public square is also part of the project.
“This is a tremendous opportunity for our company to help the Town of Wasaga Beach realize the potential of this area,” Falvo said.
Fabrizio Cortellucci, president of Zancor, says the company also looks forward to developing Wasaga Beach’s waterfront.
“This is a beautiful area and we are committed to creating a vibrant new neighbourhood in keeping with council’s vision for the area. We’ve proven in Wasaga Beach and elsewhere in Ontario that community building is something we do very well,” Cortellucci said.
In addition to the development, the town has a streetscaping plan for the revitalized area, including the creation of a raised waterfront promenade – where Beach Drive currently exists – with various pedestrian-friendly features.
“On behalf of council and town staff, I congratulate Bayloc on its decision to pursue this ambitious community investment,” said Mayor Nina Bifolchi. “We have gone through two very transparent and rigorous processes to get to this point.
“This is an exciting moment for our community. The result of this development, when fully built out, will be a revitalized neighbourhood that can be enjoyed by residents and visitors.”
Specifics of the deal will be kept confidential until the 30-day due diligence period expires and the purchase and sale agreement is finalized.
During the due diligence period, Bayloc and Zancor will refine their development concepts. Work will also start on a master development agreement for overall planning requirements for the project.
The town started negotiations with Bayloc in February, one of the development companies identified through a formal Request for Expressions of Interest process and a formal Request for Proposals process.
In July, Bayloc asked if Zancor could join the proposal as a partner and council agreed, subject to all parties reaching a formal agreement.
“As fairness monitor for the procurement process associated with the redevelopment of the Beach Area 1 lands, I can state with confidence that the Town of Wasaga Beach administered a procurement process that fully met an acceptable standard of an open, fair, and transparent process,” fairness monitor Bill Mocsan of William Mocsan Consulting Inc. said in a statement.
“The RFP was clearly written, and the town was very diligent in their description of the procurement process. The Evaluation Teams were qualified to conduct the evaluation, they were all trained on best practices, and they followed the evaluation process exactly as it was described in the RFP.”
Gianni Ciufo of Deloitte, project consultants, said the agreement of purchase and sale marks an important milestone for the town.
“This substantial redevelopment and improvement of Beach Drive and the development parcel will bring short and long term employment growth to the area and will be a catalyst to economic development and expanded seasonal enjoyment of the town and its amenities. The preferred proponent was selected following a competitive transaction process which provides taxpayers with value for money,” he said.
Visit the town’s Build Wasaga portal to learn more about our efforts to redevelop municipally owned land at the main beachfront.