Vacancies: 6 of 7 Palmwood condo units in Crystal Beach still empty

A development promising waterfront living on the shore of Lake Erie appears to be having difficulty attracting residents.

Six of seven units at a luxury condo building–Palmwood Suites–completed in 2024, in Crystal Beach, remain vacant. The four-storey building is located along the Lake Erie waterfront at the site of a former watering hole and eatery that was part of the Crystal Beach fabric since 1929, when it was known as Sheehan’s Terrace Inn.

It was renamed The Palmwood in 1963 and changed ownership a handful of times before it closed in 2020 and was demolished the following year.

The high-end condo building was approved by the Town of Fort Erie in 2017 and has been listed on the realtor.ca website as having units available for 461 days.

The lowest monthly lease rate for the two smallest apartments is $12,500 per month, while the most expensive ones are more than $15,000 a month, explained Douglas Rempel from Bosley Real Estate Ltd. Brokerage, who is listed as the sales contact for the project, built by the Coutu family.

The priciest suites up for lease are fully furnished, explained Rempel.

Its penthouse on the top floor is currently occupied, but the six other units are seeking tenants.

To lease one of the smaller suites would cost about $144,000 per year, which, Rempel admits, “not everybody is able to do that.”

But the development was created for people who can afford that much in rent each month.

“It’s deliberately not a space that’s going to appeal to everybody,” Rempel said in an interview with Niagara This Week.

It’s a “spectacular location” sitting next to amenities such as Waterfront Park.

The former Palmwood was frequently known by the nickname “Circus by the Sea,” especially during the heyday of the Crystal Beach Amusement Park, which closed in the late 1980s.

“It’s such a transition from what the Palmwood used to be to what the Palmwood is now,” said Rempel.

Under a foreign buyer prohibition enacted in 2023, non-Canadians are unable to buy units, said Rempel, adding that there are no restrictions on outsiders leasing one of them.

Rempel said the condos are not for sale, but only up for lease.

In the many decades of its existence, the Palmwood was a rite of passage for U.S. visitors and seasonal residents.

Rempel said that many inquiries have been received from across the border.

There is also a restaurant that’s ready to start cooking, a space that can seat 90 people inside and another 60 outside.

He said a search for the right operator is ongoing, and that it won’t be a roadhouse or a pizza parlour, and likely not a franchise.

Nor will it be an “everyday, ordinary restaurant,” said Rempel, adding the vision for the culinary space will be moderate to high end.

Earlier this year, town council turned down a 10-storey condo building at 3856 Terrace Lane in the vicinity of the Palmwood development.

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