Saint John wants 287 vacant properties in peninsula developed or sold

The City of Saint John has plans to track down owners of vacant properties in the central peninsula in hopes they will either build or sell.

A report prepared for city council's growth committee shows there are 287 vacant properties on the peninsula,which is home to the uptown business area and surrounding, older residential neighbourhoods.

Many have been vacant for decades.

Few vacant properties listed

Only a handful of the vacant properties are listed for sale on MLS (Multiple listing service).

"A lot of those lots, even some of the buildings that are still standing, have been bought by outside people and they've just gone away," said Coun.Gerry Lowe, whose ward encompasses the entire peninsula.

Lowe suspects some of the properties are now in the hands of the provincial government after the owners failed to pay property taxes.

On Wednesday city planning staff told members of the growth committee efforts should be made to reach out to the property owners to encourage them to put the land back into play.

"Hopefully this is going to get more active and people are going to knock on doors and find out 'Do you want to sell your lot?'"said Lowe. "And that way there we'll get them listed and people will start buying."

Encouraging results

The initiative follows what are seen as encouraging early results from development incentive programs introduced in 2016.

A city report states that $184,000 in approved municipal development grants will return $240,000 in added revenue to the city.

The program allows developers to cover between five and 10 per cent of their total costs to build on a vacant inner-city lot, to a maximum of $182,000, although most approved grants would be far lower.

Mayor Don Darling is encouraged by those results.

"I'd like to hear from you how we can enhance the program," he told planning staff Wednesday.

An early draft of the city's 2017 operating budget allots $370,000 for urban development incentives.

The budget has yet to be approved by council.