Man behind plan to redevelop Northern Breweries building asking for another 12 months

The city's planning committee will decide next week whether to grant a one-year extension to rezoning approvals needed to build the Brewer Lofts on Lorne Street.

Greg Oldenburg, who has been working on the project since 2012, had rezoning approved in 2016 to build 50 condos, which he is now advertising as starting at $185,000 each.

But financing for the $23 million project has been an obstacle. In 2017, Oldenburg applied to the city for $9.5 million, a mix of tax relief, grants and an interest-free loan of $4.5 million. He was critical of councillors when they turned him down.

But in February 2019, councillors agreed to a $4.1 million package over 10 years for the project – or $410,000 a year – as long as Oldenburg met several benchmarks, such as leveraging private funds.

The Northern Breweries building has largely been unused since it closed in 2004, despite efforts in 2005-2006 to save the business. The exterior has deteriorated considerably since then, and while it was sold in 2010, the buyer was unable to find a way to make it viable.

Oldenburg bought the building two years later, and has been trying to attract private and public funding since then, as well as pre-selling some of the condo units.

Staff is recommending the extension be approved, which would give him until November of this year before the approval expires again. The planning committee meets Monday at 1 p.m. at Tom Davies Square.