A developer is hoping to bring a new multi-use development to the Village of Cumberland’s downtown core.
R.W. (Bob) Wall Ltd. will be submitting an application for the first phase of a three-phase development that would include two medical offices, commercial space and residential units.
Donna Hais, R.W. (Bob) Wall Ltd. general manager, says the first phase of the development, slated for 2679 Beaufort Ave., will be a freestanding 5,800 square foot medical building that will house a family medical practice.
On Jan. 8, a public information meeting was held about the first phase of the project and approximately 40 people were in attendance.
“I do think this is a great opportunity for Cumberland,” said Hais. “Bringing the [family practitioner] in with the type of services he’s going to provide I think is a great opportunity for the community.”
Though the company will only be submitting a development permit application for the first phase of the project, an overall concept plan will be included for council’s consideration.
The second phase of the plan will be a 5,000 square foot medical facility while the third is expected to be a two or three story mixed-use building with underground parking.
“We know the mixed-use building will be no doubt a floor of commercial and then one or two floors of residential,” she said., adding that there will likely be around 10 units of residential but they are still determining what the units will look like.
“The reason the first phase is the medical … is because [the family practitioner] has a lot of patients there and the medical building, for lack of a better term, is more of an immediate need. So while we do our due diligence on what the dynamics of the third phase is like, we’re going to deal with the immediate need and have that put in place.”
Cleo Corbett, senior planner with the Village, said the applicant will continue to work with the Village to finalize parts of the application such as form and character, a landscape plan and potential road improvements in the area. From there, a finalized phase one application will be presented to council for first reading.
Corbett says from a planning perspective, the application is in line with the Village’s goal of densifying the commercial core.
“The official community plan wants to encourage increase in density in our commercial core and also encourages that kind of mixed-use to increase the amount of residential property downtown,” she said. “The vision for Cumberland is to intensify our great small downtown.”