When Simon Fuller took one look at Brockville, it put him in mind of the classic film, It's a Wonderful Life. Think Jimmy Stewart strolling the main street with his "Buffalo Gal" Donna Reed.
Fuller is president of Thomas Fuller Construction of Ottawa. And when he happened upon an available piece of Brockville's waterfront, he liked it so much he decided to not only build a new condo project there, he coined a new phrase to describe it. And now "cottage-iniums" is a registered trademark, conveying how he has melded an urban condo lifestyle with the feel of a waterfront holiday .
Fuller recently opened his sales office and expects to have enough pre-sales confirmed to begin construction on the first phase this fall. That first phase is to include a boutique hotel and its facilities will be available to condo residents.
Two other phases are planned and Fuller is working with the City of Brockville to obtain federal and provincial government financing to build an adjacent Maritime Discovery Centre, which he sees as a giant tourist draw.
"People haven't woken up to Brockville's potential yet," says Fuller. "We look at this city – the oldest city in Ontario – and its location on the seaway. People spend big dollars to go to Muskoka and this is right here. They probably don't know about it."
Several of the Thousand Islands are actually located within the city limits, within easy reach of Tall Ships Landing.
"You can sail out to an island, catch a fish and come home and cook it," Fuller says.
He draws parallels to Bedford Falls, the town in Frank Capra's It's A Wonderful Life. Brockville cherishes its architectural heritage, Fuller says, and maintains the feel of a small town while offering shopping and other services available in larger centres.
"You can walk from Tall Ships Landing to the butcher, the baker, the arts centre and the farmers' market."
The city was once a hub of manufacturing but as that industry melted away over the past two decades, the local economy has been hit hard. Now city officials are turning their attention to marketing it as a tourist centre that's also within commuting distance to Ottawa, Kingston and Montreal, and an ideal location for those either nearing or entering retirement.
Upon completion, Tall Ships Landing will consist of 137 cottage-iniums. The first phase will be a 20-storey building containing 72 condos, plus a 33-room boutique hotel on the lower levels, mooring slips and a restaurant designed in the style of the old rowing club once located on the site. If all goes well, Fuller also hopes the Maritime Discovery Centre will begin to rise soon.
The plan is for hotel services such as a gym, lap pool and spa, plus maid service and catering from the restaurant, all to be available to cottage-inium residents, thus adding to the resort-style feel. Red granite fireplaces are designed to contribute to the stylishly elegant cottage atmosphere.
Covered parking spots will be taller than normal, providing space to store a boat above the car, while doors will open onto the harbour to ease boat access to the water. While most suites will be about 1,500 square feet, some penthouse suites will be up to 2,400 square feet. Prices will range from $500,000 to $1.5 million.
In Phase 2, there will be 32 suites on four floors and the third phase is to consist of 33 suites on 11 floors.
So far, Fuller's marketing attention has been aimed at Brockville residents, including those who moved away but are willing to consider returning. Now he is beginning to turn to Toronto from where he expects to draw a large portion of his next customers. Montreal, Ottawa and upper New York state are other areas of emphasis.
Along the way, he hopes to help turn the former industrial city on the St. Lawrence River into one of Eastern Ontario's premier communities for fashionable and active retirees and 50-something baby boomers.
The builder believes the urban feel to the place, with the proximity to such natural beauty, will appeal to Torontonians. While the project will be something quite new for Brockville, it is a formula familiar in other places. He compares it to living on the Vancouver or Boston waterfronts.
Brockville has a rich history. United Empire Loyalists began to arrive in 1784 and soon a thriving shipbuilding industry was created. A patent medicine industry followed by the mid-19th century and Brockville later became home to G.T. Fulford, inventor of Dr. William's Pink Pills for Pale People.
In 2002, UNESCO designated the region a biosphere reserve, one of just 14 in Canada. Fuller wants to help the city take advantage of its tourist opportunities in a sustainable and environmentally friendly manner. He likes to refer to it as "Niagara-on-the-River," combining its St. Lawrence location and Niagara-on-the-Lake potential.
If the maritime centre takes off, he sees it consisting of a 15,000-square-foot aquarium, fresh-water diving information centre and home port for his own tall ship, the Fair Jeanne.
Brockville Mayor David Henderson says the city is delighted by Fuller's interest and sees the project as a key component in the bid to rejuvenate the downtown core. In a way, Brockville is trying to return to the past, when people lived above the stores on the retail streets, he says. With predictions that suburbia's day in the sun is past, the city is trying hard to position itself to take advantage of new living trends.
While Tall Ships Landing is the most spectacular of the city's downtown developments, two other core-area condo projects are in the works and recently an upscale seniors independent living complex opened near City Hall.
The Tall Ships Landing presentation centre at 10 St. Andrew St., Brockville, is open Wednesday through Sunday between 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. For information, call 613-498-7245 or visit the website at tallshipslanding.com.