Case Study
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The property and the building had been nicely renovated for a single-purpose dance school use; however, with a Residential Official Plan designation and an A5 zoning (one and two-family dwelling zone), the commercial uses permitted on the site are limited. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic and related regulations limiting indoor capacities, the property and business owner engaged Cushman & Wakefield Kingston to help divest of the property and relocate the business to smaller premises.
To further complicate matters, the City of Kingston required a significant portion of the road frontage to be dedicated for road widening and that a site plan control agreement be entered into with any change of use.
The biggest challenge of this assignment was finding prospective buyers who could utilize the property given the limitations of its zoning and location.
The Listing team liaised with City Planning and planning professionals, and assisted discussions between the Seller and the City, to explore all potential avenues and solutions related to expanding the permitted uses on the property. To maximize the sale price of the property and mitigate due diligence risk it was important to understand, and to be able to express to prospective buyers, what opportunities exist and what steps would be required to satisfy municipal requirements. The Listing Team aggressively marketed the property to both permitted commercial uses (i.e. schools, day care centres, churches, etc.) as well as commercial uses that were determined to have potential as a permitted use with the appropriate steps.
The Listing Team, Martin L. Skolnick and Scott Botting of Cushman & Wakefield Kingston, successfully completed a firm sale of the property and have since assisted the Seller in securing new leased premises for the continued operation of their dance school.