Developer withdraws application for 8-storey apartment building in downtown Charlottetown

Plans for an apartment building in downtown Charlottetown that have been in the works for almost three years have been shelvedonce again.

Developer Tim Banks, president of Pan American Properties, has withdrawn his application for the eight storey, 158-unit apartment building beside the Polyclinic at 199 Grafton St.

The project would have also provided more than 30 affordable rental units less than $1,000 a month in Charlottetown's downtown core.

Pan American properties was spearheading the project for Morris Holdings, owned by Pat Morris. Morris Holdings owns the property where the development was being planned.

Project doesn't fitcity's official plan

Banks said Morris decided enough was enough after Charlottetown planning staff recommended council not approve it.

"He said 'I'm all done,' and I've been trying to rein him back and trying to get him to say, 'Look Pat, this is a beautiful project.' And he knows it's a beautiful project, but he just has no time of day."

In its recommendation for denial, city planning staff said the project doesn't fit with the city's official plan, which does not support high-density development in that area.

A proposal for a six-storey, 84-unit building on the same site was approved by the city in the summer of 2021. But it was held up by an IRAC appeal and disputes with the city over tax implications on "affordable" units.

Banks said he now has to build taller to get about a 4.5 per cent return on investment.

"If they were to work with us three years ago when we started the project, when the interest rates were 2.7 per cent and when construction was 25 to 30 per cent cheaper, the building would be built now and people would be finding the accommodations. But it just seems to always get stuck in the bureaucracy."

The federal government has put pressure on municipalities across the country to build high density housing, with millions of dollars in funding on the line.

Early this year, the province's vacancy rate was below one per cent.

Area with heritage homes

But Banks said it's hard to get approval for variances south of EustonStreet where many heritage homes sit.

In an email statement to CBC, Deputy Mayor Alanna Jankov, who is also chair of the planning board, noted that the application withdrawal came before council had a chance to vote on it.

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"Council ultimately decides if a variance application is approved and councillors make their decisions based on what will benefit their community from a holistic perspective," she said.

"An applicant who requests a major variance application be removed from the Planning Board agenda denies due process and, in effect, makes the final decision on the project in question prior to Council having an opportunity to render a formal decision."