Hedge Road Landing development could begin construction this month

By Mike Anderson

The much anticipated but repeatedly delayed Hedge Road Landing development in Jackson’s Point will finally begin construction this Fall.

Alex Troop, President of Alliance Homes, confirmed earlier this week that he has started to pull building permits from the Town of Georgina.

“We have submitted 16 building permits as of today, with the only limitation being how quickly the engineer can prepare grading plans for submission,” Troop said in an email to the Post.

“We will start this year, hopefully, this month,” he added.

Troop had planned to start construction earlier this year but said financing for the project fell through.

“Our lender at that time had chosen not to renew the loan; we were in the process of refinancing the project, which was a longer process than expected. But that was successfully completed in May of 2022,” he said.

According to Troop, Alliance Homes will build as many units as possible and continue building through the winter.

“Construction should be completed in six months per home,” he said.

This is good news for buyers who have waited seven years to have their homes built — the sales office in Jackson’s Point opened in August 2015.

Last year, faced with higher material and labour costs, Troop warned the project might not be financially viable.

But instead of giving the buyers their deposits back, he asked them to pay more for their homes, in some cases, over $100K.

However, he defended this practice by saying the sales price increase only amounted to 50 per cent of the rise in market value from the time of the original sale.

According to a Town spokesperson, staff have been holding bi-weekly meetings with the developer to expedite the project.

The first phase of the development, which according to one real estate website is 83 per cent pre-sold, would see 144 single detached homes built.

Once completed, the development, advertised as an adult active lifestyle community, will feature 316 cottage-style bungalow homes.

According to the Town, once building permits are pulled, the developer must pay planning fees, building fees and development charges (DCs).

Initially approved by the Ontario Municipal Board in October 2006, the draft plan for the development has been extended several times by the Town.

Council approved the last extension for three years on October 6, 2021.

Still, the Town said most of the infrastructure, which includes services and roads, has been completed.