Mayor wants to address vacant buildings in Charlottetown

One sold some of the best hamburgers in town. One was a gas station with charm and character. And another was a heavy equipment dealership and repair shop.

The Peter Pan building on the corner of Capital Drive and University Avenue, the Irving building on the corner of Queen and Euston streets, and the old Pickard building at the corner of University and Belvedere avenues are all on prime locations in Charlottetown. 

And they, along with others, have been vacant or underutilized for years. Charlottetown Mayor Philip Brown thinks that's a shame.

"We definitely want to see property development all the time," he said.

"We're encouraging developers and owners of vacant properties to move those properties so that we can get more residential, affordable accessible housing, market-value housing, commercial development in the downtown, because our population is increasing and we know there is a dire need for apartment buildings or housing."

The Irving property was briefly used as an Enterprise car rental business, but has remained vacant for years. At times, people would use it as a parking spot. But recently concrete barriers were installed to prevent cars from entering the property.

In an email to CBC P.E.I., Irving spokesperson Candice MacLean said, "We continue to evaluate long-term options for this property and do not have plans to share at this time."

The old Peter Pan drive-in restaurant, which opened in 1958, sold its last burger and fries in 2013. The property is owned by TE Holdings in Yellowknife. Spokesperson Elaine MacDonald-Grundy said the property is not for sale, and the company is "working on a plan," but declined to go into details.

The Pickard property, which is on about 1.6 hectares of land, has a large sign in the front advertising it is for sale. CBC was unable to reach the owner at the number on the for sale sign last week, but last spring the owner said he did not want to discuss the status of the property.

Peeling paint and graffiti

Though the paint is old and peeling and there is graffiti on some of the properties, Brown said they are not in sufficient disrepair for the city to take action under the Dangerous and Unsightly Premises Bylaw.

"Some will see it from a residents' view that they are unsightly but unsightly premises, it has to be in a very desperate or disrepair situation before we send in our crews to make the repairs or do the cleanup."

The Charlottetown Area Development Corporation would not comment on the properties, but said it has not looked into purchasing them.

"CADC does not purchase properties on speculation. Normally a project is identified and potential sites are explored for best fit to meet the needs of the project," said executive director Ron Waite.

Brown said the city is also reluctant to purchase vacant properties.

"I view it as opening up a Pandora's box because then other landowners will say, 'Well I want to sell some land that I want to get rid of and never thought of it, but now this is a way to do it.'"

Issue since 2006

Brown said vacant properties have been an issue since he was a councillor on the planning committee in 2006.

He said owners of businesses that are vacant currently pay the residential property tax rate, which is much lower than the business tax rate. He said years ago council considered taxing them as commercial properties, as they do in some other cities, but didn't see it as a solution at the time.

"We were trying to encourage the owners of those properties to sell them or to do something with them. And here we are 13 years later and the issue is still there."

Brown said he'd like to bring the issue of vacant buildings back to the planning committee.

"The City of Charlottetown or any municipality in the country or in North America derives most of its revenue from property tax," he said. "So we have to be a working partner with landowners and the city corporation."

The Irving building is a designated heritage property, so there are certain regulations and processes it would need to meet before it is redeveloped, Brown said.

And as a former gas station, an environmental assessment may also be required. But Brown said that shouldn't preclude it from development, pointing to the old city garage on the corner of Water and Weymouth streets that became an affordable housing project.

Chamber 'pro-development'

Penny Walsh-McGuire, CEO of the Greater Charlottetown Area Chamber of Commerce, said every property is unique and owners and potential investors have to find the right circumstances for development to happen, which may effect timelines.

But she said the chamber generally supports development of any properties that are not currently in use.

"We are certainly pro-development and want to see commercial space and commercial operations grow in the capital region."

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