Wellington Bay Estates open house short on details for proposed sub-division

Story and photos by Sharon Harrison
While the Wellington and District Community Centre saw a good turnout Wednesday night by local residents, information and solid details surrounding a proposed sub-division in Wellington were sparse.

The public open house and information session by Wellington Bay Estates outlined a proposed new residential development east of the downtown core, abutting the village boundary.

This is the third such proposed development for lands situated north of Wellington Main Street, with this current proposal situated farther east than the two other proposals made by different developers. In this Wellington Bay Estates proposal, the parcel of land in question sits east of Belleville Street, and south of, and up to, the Millennium Trail.

In February, The Fields of Wellington and Weston Consulting held an open house proposing a residential development (shown above) of up to 400 units on a 110-acre parcel of land situated just north of the Millennium Trail, bounding Consecon Street at its western perimeter. Click here for details on Fields of Wellington project:

In March, Kaitlin Corporation’s Country Club Estates of Wellington outlined plans for 460 units on a 26-acre parcel of farmland (as shown above). That proposal included a golf course, community club house and retail site, plus several parks. This property borders the Millennium Trail to the south, with Belleville Road to the east, and also incorporates a smaller portion of land to the east of Belleville Road, where the two properties (The Fields of Wellington and Country Club Estates) share a common central boundary. Click here for details on the Country Club Estates project

The half a dozen display boards at Wednesday evening’s meeting lacked specific detail on the proposed sub-division, and there was no formal presentation given by the land owners, who described the information session as a meet and greet where they welcomed questions.

The developer said the proposed sub-division, which appears to be in its very early planning stages, would be basically all single detached homes with some semi-detached houses and a community centre, and would include some new roads.

They noted that there will be no commercial or other institutional use.

There was no indication provided of how large the site is, a projected start date, how many phases are expected, nor how it fits with the Wellington Secondary Plan and Prince Edward County Official Plan. As well, basic details such as lot sizes, square footage and price points were absent, and there was no mention of the type of demographic they were hoping to attract, or how the design and plan would fit into the existing heritage community.

The general buzz in the room was mixed, with some liking the proposal and others feeling reticent, with some concerns voiced specifically about water problems including pressure.

Darby Berkhout of Wellington Bay Estates, and co-owner of the land, said his father, Jack Berkhout, had owned the property for close to 30 years.

“I took over the property, and with some friends, we started developing it,” said Berkhout, who confirmed they have submitted plans to the municipality.

The display boards showed a couple of examples of the models they propose to build, proposed zoning changes, and lot layouts.

While no specific number of units was indicated by the developers, the number of proposed units could be found in the corner of one of the display boards. It shows 138 single detached homes and 40 semi-detached homes, for a total of 178 units.

“We have a main thoroughfare that will link Main Street to the Millennium Trail; it will be an extra-wide roadway that will have a pedestrian path and a multi-purpose path as well, trying to make that connection from Main Street to the Millennium Trail,” said Berkhout.

Conrad Guziewicz of Sandbank Homes indicated his company is an investor in Wellington Bay Estates.

“What we have told the councillors and the community is that I have mandated Wellington Bay Estates with two pieces of property that we have in different areas of the County to build affordable housing to offset the housing that we have here,” said Guziewicz

“We are going to launch a project in Picton at a starting price of $259,000-$269,000 which will be very attainable housing,” he said. “We are going to provide affordable housing in Wellington, meaning rental units if this project goes through, and we are really looking for the support of the community.”

Guziewicz noted that he is a person who has contributed significantly to the community, saying his company in the County now employs 200-300 people directly and indirectly.

“Right now, I am out of product; we have sold out Wellington on the Lake and I have sold out of my other properties, and if I don’t get inventory soon, several families are going to be affected.”