Former brewery building in Sudbury up for sale: Developer divesting property after failing to secure redevelopment loans from city.

AuthorMacDonald, Darren
PositionNEWS

After failing to convince the City of Greater Sudbury to provide more than $9 million in incentives and a loan, the man behind the Brewer Lofts development in the city's west end has put the building up for sale.

For the last four years, Greg Oldenburg has been working to transform the former Northern Breweries building, drawing up detailed designs and preselling some of the units.

Oldenburg wanted to put 50 loft-style condominiums in the building, along with commercial and communal spaces, and created a website for anyone curious about his plans.

The building has largely been unused since Northern Breweries closed in 2004, despite efforts in 2005-2006 to save the business.

The exterior has deteriorated considerably since then, and while it was sold in 2010, the buyer was unable to find a way to make it viable.

Oldenburg stepped in at a time when Sudbury's condo market was heating up, and his plan was announced around the same time as another developer, Panoramic Properties, had a similar redevelopment plan for the former St. Joe's hospital site near Bell Park.

The hospital redevelopment plan is on hold indefinitely, Panoramic announced late last year.

Oldenburg, who is asking for $1.25 million for the building, made a last-ditch attempt to save his project during last winter's budget process. He sought $9.5 million in a mix of grants, tax relief and a loan.

While applying through some existing incentive programs, his requests far exceeded the budget for those programs and was rejected.

While he paid less than the $850,000...

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