Adam Prudhomme
Editor
Following months of inactivity, work has resumed at the Gibbard District condo site with a new expected occupancy date of July 2027.
Pete Stevens, manager of the Doornekamp project, took the Napanee Beaver on a tour of the facility and provided an update on the much anticipated development.
“There’s been lots of stoppages, lots of hold ups, design changes,” said Stevens. “The plan is to move ahead and get this occupied around this time next year.”
After a quiet winter, workers returned to the Dundas Street site in the spring and have been on site doing everything from drywalling to electrical. The seventh floor, which is the top of the building, is closest to completion and crews work their way down one floor at a time.
The outline of a condo, as seen inside the Gibbard District building. Photo by Adam Prudhomme.
Originally announced in 2017, the project set out to repurpose the historic Gibbard Furniture Factory building into a condo unit with store front and a piazza. That plan included incorporating some of the original brick with a modern condo tower rising above, offering views of the Napanee River and downtown Napanee.
Rising costs in labour and material costs in the wake of the global pandemic caused the project to pause in 2022. That was just one of a handful of stoppages that has plagued the construction process, which included a brief stoppage due to a small fire in May of 2022 when a remote operated crane made contact with a hydro wire, prompting an evacuation while Napanee Fire extinguished the small fire.
A view from one of the windows inside the Gibabrd District building. Photo by Adam Prudhomme.
Through all the delays and setbacks, the heart of the original vision remains, though there have been some revisions along the way.
“When it was first announced there was 75 units,” said Stevens. “Now it’s 85 units. We’ve been value engineering. Still being right for the town. Still being right for the potential buyer, while making sure that it works for us too.”
A shift in the retail market led to Doornekamp reshaping the design to consist of fewer store front and more residential units.
A view of Dundas Street from the roof of the Gibabrd District building. Photo by Adam Prudhomme.
A major step towards completion was expected in late July when the building was hooked into the HydroOne power grid.
Currently the site is powered through the use of a generator. Electricity throughout the building will accelerate the construction process.
The exterior of the Gibbard District building, as seen from the roof. Photo by Adam Prudhomme.
A quick stroll through the building showed the ‘bones’ of the condo units are in place. Insulation and drywalling is further ahead in some, with open walls in others.
In the meantime, the current focus is installing the last of the floor-to-ceiling windows in the condo units and walling off the structure. The first of two elevators will be installed in the coming weeks as well.
Views of the Napanee River as seen from the Gibbard District building. Photo by Adam Prudhomme.
“When the windows go in the job’s about 50 per cent complete,” said Stevens. “That’s where we are right now as the windows are going in. Once the windows go in, it’ll look like nothing is going on at all.”
Though it may look inactive, Stevens says there will be a great deal of work going on inside. Once completely sealed, the electrical and mechanical work will ramp up inside as they work towards welcoming occupants next summer.
Currently the condos are about 35 per cent sold, with sales expected to re-open up in the next couple of weeks.
Brick restoration taking place on the original furniture factory building. Photo by Adam Prudhomme.