A developer from London is planning to add as many as 2,000 rental units to the housing market in the growing city of St. Thomas.
Drewlo Holdings, a company that manages over 10,600 rental units across six cities in Southwestern Ontario, has proposed constructing six apartment buildings with between 1,800 and 2,000 rental units on eight hectares (20 acres) of land at the former rail terminal site located at Wilson Avenue and Elm Street in east St. Thomas, according to planner Carrie O’Brien.
In a video shared on the You Tube channel of the St. Thomas Economic Development Corporation, O’Brien mentioned that there’s been a shortage of purpose-built rental housing in St. Thomas, and adding these units will create opportunities for renters while also freeing up other housing options within the community.
“That opens up more innately affordable housing that already exists in St. Thomas (and) it also opens up starter homes” for families, O’Brien explained in the video, noting that Drewlo plans to start construction on the first building later this year or early 2027.
O’Brien indicated that Drewlo became interested in St. Thomas after Amazon announced its intention to build a fulfillment center several years ago in Talbotville, just west of the city.
Now, with an economic surge largely fueled by Power Co’s $7-billion electric vehicle battery plant – set to open in 2027 and expected to employ around 3,000 workers – the city’s appeal has increased even more.
“St. Thomas is obviously an ideal market in terms of location,” O’Brien stated. “The Power Co announcement made it even better.”
Since this new six-building rental project is being developed on a former rail terminal site, redevelopment costs are higher due to necessary remediation work on the land.
However, Mayor Joe Preston of St. Thomas supports revitalizing brownfield areas within city limits and emphasized that cleaning up the “heavily contaminated” site at Wilson Avenue and Elm Street will provide housing options where there was previously nothing.
“We thank great companies like Drewlo for coming in, taking the effort to what would be land that otherwise would sit forever, and come up with ways to use it for residential properties in St. Thomas at a time when we sure need the housing,” he said while noting that Drewlo has been working on remediating this land for several years now.
Preston pointed out that this site contains amenities nobody “thought could ever be recaptured again,” highlighting “how much beauty” can be restored to brownfield lands when done properly.
The combination of limited supply and high demand has kept rental prices elevated in St. Thomas according to Preston’s remarks. He expressed hope that adding about 2,000 new rental units will lead toward more affordable housing options.
No specific completion date seems available yet since Drewlo did not respond before publication inquiries from The Free Press.
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