‘1,000 people on interest list’: Housing boom continues in St. Thomas as Volkswagen pushes ahead

Amid tariff threats, work continues at the site of the future Volkswagen plant in St. Thomas. CTV London's Brent Lale explains its impact on housing.

Amid tariff threats from the U.S., work continues at the site of the future Volkswagen plant in St. Thomas, Ont.

As the project moves forward, the city needs more housing to handle the population projections, which show tens of thousands of new residents heading to southwestern Ontario.

The newest building named ‘The Highlands’ on Talbot Street will have 162 units, and they will likely all be filled when the high rise opens in a few months.

“We’ve got thousands of people that have shown interest on our early list,” said Lee Greenwood, owner of The Highlands. “It just shows how great a community it is. It shows that it’s a place where people want to reside. I think there’s jobs, and I think there’s new jobs coming with Volkswagen, so the future’s really bright.”

And it isn’t just The Highlands with cranes in the air. Phase Two at Alma College Square will have 156 units with another 108 units to follow in the third and final building on the property.

“Tenants will start to move into the first three floors in July,” said developer Michael Loewith. “The remaining six [floors] will see residents by November.”

After the success of the first building, Loewith believes renting in Phase Two will be much easier.

“A lot of the tenants that are signing up now have friends or relatives in the building. They’ve been waiting for the second building to go up and have already been downsizing for the last, 12 to 18 months. The first building was the newest luxury building in St. Thomas in the last 40 years and look at it now,” said Loewith.

In the future, 78 units of supportive housing with Indwell on Balaclava Street and more single family homes will be going up in the southeast end, and Mayor Joe Preston is excited about the growth.

“More parks, more pickleball courts, more housing, better roads, more wastewater, we have to as a community to do that smart growth,” said Preston. “It’s great to see apartments, market-rent apartments going up in our community. Supply really does help with the demand and help keep the pricing stable. We’ve seen quite a peak in housing costs and us providing supportive housing at one end and market-rent apartment building at the other is really helping our community grow in a smart way.”

MPP Rob Flack, the province’s new housing minister, told CTV News he’s pleased to see the pace of home building pick up, but added more needs to be done in the face of tariff threats.

“That’s why, as minister, I’m focused on working with our partners to cut red tape, streamline approvals, and help build the homes our province needs so we can duplicate the success we’ve had in our community across the province,” Flack said in a statement.

Greenwood said the Highlands has seen early popularity due to its location in the heart of the city with most amenities within a short walking distance.

“We’ll look to build another building on the First Avenue side of the site,” he said of his plans to continue to provide more housing. “It’ll really become a community and there’ll be hundreds of people living on site. After that, there are more lands to the north which should be mixed use as well.”