Commercial Properties Update

Although the buying and selling of commercial properties such as stores and businesses is advertised to business people, residents may also be interested in what’s happening with new owners, new businesses, new construction and other related changes.  Real Estate agents don’t always make their listings public and certainly keep actual sell prices to themselves – I guess it helps with job security. The list below comes from the Internet but it’s not known if an omission means that something has sold or simply been removed from listings.

There are two groups of properties tied to personalities:  1) the “John Lee” properties – that is, they were owned by him at one point but are now being sold off – these generally have an address at or near 79 King West.  And 2) properties owned by Mr. Fung Louie which seem to be overpriced with some in bad shape – they have been listed since January 2019.  These are 41 to 47 King west.  There’s no sign yet that he wants to sell his Midtown restaurant which has been closed for many years.

Commercial Property listings in Cobourg

As of the date of this Post – in order of decreasing value.

List Price Address Description
$8,500,000 Densmore Road Vacant land 6.27 Acres on Densmore Road adjacent to Extendicare.  Includes development approval for 112 residential units
$5,500,000 884 Division St 2 Multi-Tenant commercial buildings.  On almost 7 Acres of land, 14 Units in Total.  
$1,680,000 92 King St W Building only – restaurant and 4 apartments
$1,150,000 201 Division Street  Harden & Huyse building. Home of The Loft and Craft Food House – Building only for sale.
$975,000 7 & 9 King Street W  Dutch Oven building with apartment above.  It seems both building and restaurant business are for sale.
$899,000 79 King Street W #8  Also known as 89 King West – Spa Condo Unit and residential condo bungalow style – Business sold separately
$850,000 3 King St W  Houses Edward Jones and apartment – building only
$845,000 31 King St E  Oasis Restaurant and apartment over – may have been sold.
$799,000 9 and 11 King Street E  Mixed-use commercial residential building.  3 living spaces but not legally 3 Residential apartments 3 Commercial units including new barber shop (the Grubby Barber) and retro clothing & vintage collectibles store in the other two.
$599,000 43, 45 King St W Building adjacent to Buy & Sell – Vacant store
$599,000 47 King St W Building only – Tenant is Buy & Sell.
$589,000  346-348 Division St  4 two bedroom apartments
$499,000  41 King St W  Closed store.  Appears to be in poor repair.
$489,000 409 Division St. NW Corner of Division Street and University Avenue.  Was Reg Wards Insurance but that business has moved to 247 Division St.
$459,000 261 Spring St.  Building only – houses dental office
$449,000 Elgin St. Prime 1.87 Acre lot for sale. South East “corner” of Division and Elgin.  On Elgin a bit east of corner.
$309,000 79 King Street W #A Condo retail space
$269,900 79 King Street W #D Condo retail space – Leased to Freedom Mobile
$262,935 79 King Street W #B Condo retail unit – vacant
$149,900 95 King St W  Matterhorn Restaurant – business only for sale.
$160,000  500 Division St Chinese Take-Out Restaurant (No-Frills Plaza).  Business only for sale
$147,000 79 King Street W #85 Condo retail space
$95,000 #3 – 1030 Division St Car Detailing business
$69,000 79 AKA 89 King Street W #8 Spa business only for sale

Properties no longer listed publicly

Although these properties are no longer listed publicly, the Town’s Economic Development Department still listed them as available inventory up until a day or two ago so perhaps they are still for sale (but the Town no longer provides such a list – sorry.  Now available – thanks to reader. Click here.) Also in approx. order of value.

  • Woodlawn Inn 420 Division St.  $2.55M Last known asking price
  • 202 Second Street (Quigley land) – approved for a condo development but sales didn’t happen and it’s now a parking lot.  Asking price was over $2M.
  • 66 King East – Meet at 66 King – was asking $1.5M.  Includes building, business and adjacent Antique market
  • Millstone Bakery on Albert St – was asking $1.25M
  • 2 King East. The building on the North-East corner of Division and King has been up for sale for many years – no word on its future.  There were also plans to convert it to a Condo.
    2 King East
    2 King East
  • Building housing Julie’s Place at 396 William (cnr of University) was for sale – no word if it sold – Julie’s Place has now closed.  Building includes an operating variety store. In 2017 the asking price was $899,000 for the building plus the restaurant business (it was Lets Eat then).
  • 448 D’Arcy  The building housing a closed Sushi Restaurant and 6 apartments may have been sold. In 2015 the ask price was $895,000.
  • The Park Playhouse is no doubt still for sale although it’s not even listed in the Town’s inventory.  However there’s no word on its future.  The Town and other groups seem to have lost interest. Like Sidbrooke, it will likely be left to be demolished by neglect, declared a hazard, officially demolished and Condos built there instead. The going price was most recently around $700,000.

There’s no word on what’s planned for the Mall.  It’s not for sale and Planning don’t have any requests for approval of work there.

If you are interested in the price of residential homes in Cobourg and how they compare to Toronto, go to this page.

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DEAN
4 years ago

a new business opened up in the big lake boats building across from thomas motors.
a car detailing place, along with speedy glass and lube shop.

also lets not forget the new napa. the place is really nice inside and has alot to offer.

Mark
4 years ago

The link is not working “ available inventory ”

John Draper
Reply to  Mark
4 years ago

The Town removed the link – it was working when this article was posted. I’ve changed the above text accordingly.

Small time lover
4 years ago

There are a lot of commercial properties for sale in Cobourg. There appears to be a problem and I have to admit I am a bit worried about the future of our beautiful town. What’s going on and what if anything can our mayor do about it? I was very happy about a medical centre being downtown but apparently it’s not happening. . What happened?

Old Sailor
Reply to  Small time lover
4 years ago

Small Town Lover:

I try and shop all year on King Street versus going to a box store or buying online. In talking to King Street retailers this Christmas season I am hearing that it is another sub par season for them. The main reason is the continual increase in online shopping by Cobourg residents. As well, I hear that residents originally “from away” like me, are going back to their old GTA stores to Christmas shop. Not sure what King Street is going to look like in 5 years other than a lot of for sale signs in windows. We and the DBIA should all be offering suggestions to the Town on how to keep King Street retailers with us for the long term. Several blocks of empty stores will not be a big draw for new tourists or residents.

Ken Strauss
Reply to  Old Sailor
4 years ago

Retail success requires offering a product that people want at a price that they are willing to pay at a time that they are willing to buy. Having friendly and knowledgeable staff helps. Market & Smør are a great, King Street, example of what is required.

Durka
Reply to  Ken Strauss
4 years ago

Market and Smor are indeed great and they are doing it in a sleepier section of downtown. That said, they are selling product that is somewhat online shopping proof and that is fresh produce. There can only be so many such stores. Essentially they have that market covered now. Beyond that I’m not sure what else is online shopping proof. Restaurants, for which there are plenty. I don’t think Cobourg has any online delivery apps servicing the town, such as Skip the Dishes or Uber Eats, but those could prove beneficial to downtown restaurants as they downtown restaurants tend to offer more unique food I could see people paying for to get delivered.

For people selling hard goods and knick knacks that is going to be a very tough market heading forward. Have to really sell their “experience”.

perplexed
Reply to  Small time lover
4 years ago

Taxes to high , Rents in some cases to high, lack of good parking
to many homeless to contend with , locals don’t always want to contend with congestion and a plague of summer tourists , Lackluster shops
shall we go on go look at Port hope , Port Perry, heck even Warkworth has us beat

Mark
4 years ago

I was told by employees working at the Freedom store that they own the space.
They are a franchisee for Freedom.
What will happen to the medical centre on King Street now that the doctors are moving out ? Condos maybe ?

perplexed
Reply to  Mark
4 years ago

Rehab — was the rumor

Shirley who's unit is being converted to condos
Reply to  Mark
4 years ago

We don’t need any more condos so hopefully whatever moves into 316 King Street East, will be something useful. Apartments would be an excellent option. We have enough condos in this town!

Ken Strauss

If rental units are being converted to condos then either the owners are making poor choices or there are not enough condos in Cobourg.

Dan
Reply to  Ken Strauss
4 years ago

The owner of that particular building is just old, and wants to cash in another couple million bucks.

It’s definitely a bad idea “in general” to get rid of apartments because our vacancy rate is so low, but when everybody there (By virtue of most of them having lived there for 10-20 years) are paying reasonable rents and not absurd “taking advantage of low vacancy” rents, it’s a different situation.

Specifically, tenants who were paying 700-900/month have to leave, because the owner has sold their unit as a condo for 260,000 to new owners who are now listing the units as for rent for 1400-1500/month.

Obviously if he could have doubled everybody’s rents himself he wouldn’t be selling, but it’s not legal for a reason.

Dan
Reply to  Ken Strauss
4 years ago

Also, rental units can’t be converted to condos now, because the town doesn’t allow it due to how low the vacancy rate for rental apartments is right now. The only reason he’s able to do what he’s doing now is that he technically converted them to condos in the 1990s, and has just been “subletting” each unit, despite himself being the only owner of all of them, ever since.

Ken Strauss
Reply to  Dan
4 years ago

Dan, why do you feel that a property owner should not be allowed to use his property in whatever way, consistent with zoning and other issues, that maximizes the income from his investment? I don’t know even your name but, hypothetically, would you willingly sell your house for below market value? Would you work for below market wages? Why do you think that someone else should?

Dan
Reply to  Ken Strauss
4 years ago

Thinking he is being greedy, and morally wrong to force a bunch of primarily elderly and disabled people out of affordable apartments into basically no supply and everything double the price just so he can make more money than the profit he was already making is not the same thing as thinking he shouldn’t be allowed to do it.

He is allowed to do it, and I’m allowed to think he’s a greedy person for the way he’s chosen to do it. Those are not exclusive from one another.

But it IS telling that if he tried to do what he’s doing now, NOW, the town would -forbid- him from doing it, as part of why it is crummy that he’s doing it anyway via a technicality.

Ken Strauss
Reply to  Dan
4 years ago

Dan, it is easy to say that another is “greedy and morally wrong” but you didn’t answer:

…would you willingly sell your house for below market value? Would you work for below market wages? Why do you think that someone else should?

Dan
Reply to  Ken Strauss
4 years ago

I was a tenant there for 5 years without even knowing the owner’s name let alone seeing him there, let alone him doing anything you could reasonably consider “work” so him sitting at home while he was earning profit on property is not the same as working below market wages. He was exploiting the labour of others for profit, not the same thing.

But to answer what you imagine is some kind of trap: If I was renting my house to people at a rate where it was livable for them, and profitable for me, I would not evict them just because the profit wasn’t as high as it could have been, especially into a market with basically no vacancy and the knowledge that the only reason I was actually allowed to do it was because I made arrangements 20 years ago to be able to act in the face of a direct town boycott of the thing I was doing.

Rich people causing poor people to suffer more in order to become more rich are not people whose actions I support. I’m not a capitalist, I don’t care about money to the exclusion of being a decent human being.

If I could sit at home and do nothing, and be earning 30k in profit off that building, in addition to my other buildings, and my pension, and my savings from a whole career as a lawyer, and the million plus dollars I just earned selling another property? No, I would not evict a bunch of elderly and disabled people just to pocket another several million, especially not into a market where many of them had to relocate cities, or are still struggling to find a place to live that they can actually afford.

ben
Reply to  Dan
4 years ago

“If I could sit at home and do nothing, and be earning 30k in profit off that building, in addition to my other buildings, and my pension, and my savings from a whole career as a lawyer, and the million plus dollars I just earned selling another property?”

Hope this unnamed, but well known, lawyer pays his capital gains tax in the remaining years of his life!

Frenchy
Reply to  ben
4 years ago

How could he avoid not doing so?

Frenchy
Reply to  Frenchy
4 years ago

Sorry, that should read “How could he avoid doing so?” (paying his capital gains tax)

ben
Reply to  Frenchy
4 years ago

I guess it is how he structured his corporation, Frenchy

Shirley who's unit is being converted to condo
Reply to  ben
4 years ago

Well as my former neighbour Dan clearly stated that the owner, retired lawyer named Rodger F. Cooper is now complaining that he’s getting dinged with too much capital gains tax and so he’s renting out six of the renovated units that would have sold for $232,900 up to $244,900 (first 15 units sold for that price). Rental pricing for the condos are $1,400 to $1,500 plus electric heat and hydro. Now the owner has upped the asking price to $244,900 up to $268,900. This building was built in 1961 and housed the pool hall on the second floor and the bowling alley on the first floor. The second floor was made into apartments back in 1986 and the first floor 1992 when the bowling alley permanently closed. As Dan said there are people that are 87 years old being evicted for new owner occupancy, there’s a couple mid 70’s and they’re being evicted. In my time here, I never met Rodger Cooper until March 2, 2019 when he came in with the property manager, the design person and another employee to see each unit. Rodger Cooper has already made millions on 45 Spencer Street East, Hogan’s Hearing Aids and other units. I spoke with Northumberland News about doing an article to just get the info out there about what was happening but they weren’t interested. I spoke to one of the Town councillors and she said they were aware of this happening back in March and there’s nothing they could do. I don’t know how many other 24 unit buildings in Cobourg have actually been through the process of being evicted after the units were sold and renovated into condos. The pressure is on every day to all of the remaining tenants to get out – we’ve listened to renovations of units – complete demolition of cupboards, cabinets, walls removed, walls added, bathrooms tore apart and 9 months of that – these units aren’t soundproof and even the renovated units aren’t soundproof. We just want to have more apartment buildings built or commercial units converted to residential for decent apartments that people can afford.

Deborah O'Connor

Have you talked to a lawyer at the North’d Legal Centre? They are well versed in condo conversions and can lay out the facts so you know what’s going on.
Summary advice is free to anyone who asks. (905) 373-4464, usual 9 to 5 weekday hours but closed Thursdays from 2 pm. Top floor of the Fleming Building, Suite 301.

Shirley
Reply to  Deborah O'Connor
4 years ago

We’ve all gone to the Northumberland Legal Center and was told there was nothing they could do until we got an N12 eviction notice. Even the owner of our building went to the Northumberland Legal Center to give them copies of all the letter about what was happening here because he knew none of us could afford an hourly rate to see a real estate/condo conversion specialist lawyer. As stated above, since Rodger Cooper had the 26 Spencer Street East building designated as a condo in 1996, we can’t stop the conversion. People are coming and buying the units knowing that there are still tenants occupying some of the units and have no place to go and can’t afford the high rent prices out there but the buyers don’t care. The owner wants us out and asks us “how are you….making out finding a new place to live?” I say I can’t afford a new place with what I make on disability and he said not his problem and to keep looking.