Last month we looked at the history of Meaford Haven – revealing how a chance drive through Meaford inspired Toronto developer Pierre Boiron to begin work on a unique Three Seasons retirement community.

From the beginning the project caught the attention of people looking for a friendly, small-town Ontario retirement community, and Boiron has received a lot of interest from potential residents.

Now, as the project has achieved a number of important steps and cleared numerous hurdles on the way from dream to developed community, folks keep asking, “When can I move in?” To help answer that question, here’s a behind-the-scenes look at how a major development such as Meaford Haven progresses.

When Pierre committed to moving forward with Meaford Haven, he planned to take all the necessary steps to prepare the property for construction. Then, he’d sell the new subdivision (including the market research, the vision and guidelines to achieve it) to a builder who would actually build and sell the bungalows, condominium apartments, and other buildings in the retirement community. As the very first step, Pierre made an offer on the land, conditional on successfully getting approval on a draft plan of subdivision from the Municipality of Meaford.

After nearly three years of painstaking work creating a vision for the community, laying out the neighbourhood, retaining various consultants and engineers, listening to nearby residents and the many stakeholders in the region (including the County and conservation authorities), and satisfying all demands, Meaford Haven had its draft plan of subdivision approved. The sale of the property concluded and Boiron took over the property.

A Draft Plan of Subdivision comes with a list of conditions of approval that must be approved before construction gets underway. Conditions include such items as installing roads, water, sewers (sanitary and storm), providing utilities, telephone and cable to each lot, and posting of security (usually in the form of letters of credit from a bank.) At this stage, Boiron had the option of satisfying these conditions and selling the lots to a builder, or selling the land as is. As originally planned, it was time to seriously seek out interested builders.

During the period Meaford Haven was taking the steps to get the Draft Plan of Subdivision approved, Boiron was also working hard to market the community to potential buyers – a big added value for the builder. The builder is not only getting a property ready for development but it comes complete with a vision, market research, recommendations and choices for home styles and amenities. And the Meaford Haven development team plans to assist the builder as much as possible in implementing these, insisting on high standards for the community.

A website directed specifically at builders, www.meafordhavenforsale.com, presents details on the development to date, including development charges, and offers for sale the residential development blocks and, separately, the retirement residence block.

The website points out numerous advantages of the site, the location, the concept and the demand, saying some nice things about Meaford in the process. It also addresses the potential obstacle of Meaford’s low absorption rate – the yearly number of new homes sold in a community. A builder’s Number One interest is how many units might he sell in a year. Meaford currently issues 40-50 new home building permits a year, so a builder might conclude he could only sell 15 or 20 homes a year. Meaford Haven’s take on this relies on its market research and the careful development of the concept for the retirement community: with the right product in place, the demand will increase.

Boiron is currently speaking to a few builders interested in the Meaford Haven concept and hopes to strike a deal (or deals) before long. The options are many.

One builder might buy all the residential blocks, including the retirement residence, leaving Boiron to develop the commercial/medical centre.

A builder may buy only the residential sites for the cluster bungalows and low-rise condominiums, and a retirement residence specialist would buy that block.

Different builders might purchase different residential blocks.

Another option might see Boiron entering into a joint venture with a builder or builders, providing the land as collateral. Builders can find this arrangement attractive as it makes financing easier.

So, there are lots of ways to take the next steps with Meaford Haven, but from the standpoint of the new resident in the community, the end result is the same: a beautiful new home in a small town retirement community where you can age in place, staying in the neighbourhood you’ve grown to love with the people you’ve come to know.