BURLINGTON A modest-sized billboard for a new condo and hotel on Burlington's waterfront had been up less than 24 hours, when project developer Charles Mady discovered there were more than 340 potential buyers lining up online to register for one of the 170 condos.

"This property is special," said the veteran developer. "How many places can you build directly on the water, but also be downtown?"

The $200-million Burlington Bridgewater project on Lakeshore Road, at the foot of Pearl Street, was officially launched Tuesday. It features two condo towers of 22 and seven storeys, an eight-storey hotel, 11,000-square-feet of retail, three levels of underground parking and an outdoor plaza that will connect to the waterfront trail.

It's hoped a sales centre will be up early next year and that ground will break late 2014. Condo units are expected to start at $500,000 and hit $3 million.

"We all expect this development to become Burlington's crown jewel," said Mady, CEO of Mady Development Corporation.

Negotiations are still going on with hotel operators, but Mady is committed to landing a four-star brand.

The project has been more than 20 years in the making and not without controversy.

The 1.68 site, in what has been designated the Old Lakeshore Road precinct, was once home to an ice cream shop and the Riviera hotel, which was built in 1964 and changed very little before it was demolished last year.

Next door is the Ascot Motel, and beside that Emma's Backporch and the Water Street Cooker that date back to the early 20th century as the Estaminet hotel.

Real estate investor Matt Jaecklein says people called him crazy when he started buying up the properties 20 years ago. Even Burlingtonians didn't see the value in their waterfront back then, he says.

But the Bridgewater has stalled a number of times over the years, largely due to the economic downturn and finding suitable developers and hotel partners.

"I had no trouble waiting until the time was right."

Jaecklein, principal in Mayrose-Tycon Group, says Windsor-based Mady is the right fit because he has a track record in building custom, mixed-use developments.

"It takes expertise and with a location like this, we needed someone with a different sensitivity from the condos going up in Toronto."

The city approved extra height and density for the development in 2006, in exchange for the hotel and retail, and for the commitment to maintain public access to the waterfront, said Mayor Rick Goldring.

"This will be a landmark building on our waterfront," he said. "It really will extend Spencer Smith Park east."

Councillor Marianne Meed Ward, who represents the area, said everyone owns the waterfront and she's concerned about future developments that could turn Lakeshore into a "canyon," with towering condos on either side.

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Residents have expressed concerns in the past on the websites abetterburlington.ca and saveourwaterfront.ca. "A wall of condos, hotels etc by the lake would turn our beautiful city into a Toronto. That is not what residents of Burlington want but city council does not listen," wrote one on-line poster.

It appears neither website has been updated in several years.