REI VALUE ADD SUCCESS STORY 005
Existing Condition (As-Is), Our Plans to Add Value, Permits, Process & Pain Points.
NIAGARA FALLS, ONTARIO
Existing Condition (As-Is)
Existing mixed-use 2-unit building (8 residential + 3 commercial). This is an 11,000 sqft standalone building in the heart of Niagara Falls. After an initial tour, you think there’s no room to add more units, but after taking a closer look at the oversized existing residential units, we were confident we could split them.
Our Plans to Add Value
Our plan was simple: take some of the oversized units and split them in half, creating 2 new units in this building, taking this building from 8+3 into a 10+3 mixed use. Unfortunately, we couldn’t utilize the basement due to the low ceilings. Luckily enough, these units were vacant at the start of this process, meaning we weren’t going to have tenant issues.
Permits, Process & Pain Points
From the outside, it may seem that this is 1 building, but on paper, it’s considered to be 2 separate buildings joined together by an existing firewall. Why should you care? Well, if it’s 2 buildings, it’ll be considered a Part 9 Building (Houses and small buildings), but if it’s the whole building, it’ll be considered a Part 3 Building (Large Buildings), meaning different requirements. This was the hardest pain point of this project, proving that it’s 2 small buildings, so we wouldn’t need to do additional work/engineering drawings. After months of debates with city officials, we proved our case!
Tags: Conversion, Unit Split, Oversized Units, Multifamily
Leave a comment