Another rental housing development is closer to moving forward in the city.
At a special meeting Tuesday night, council’s Community Services Committee supported a rezoning request for the property on Cartier Street.
A developer is looking to repurpose the former J.W. Trusler Public School into a 20-unit building, and build a new three-storey, 100-unit building, too.
Paul Goodridge, who speaks for the developer, says the buildings will include bachelor, one-bedroom and two-bedroom units.
He says there is a need for this type of housing in the city.
“Absolutely, for independent seniors and small-assistance seniors, Mr. (Jim) Kolios has a track record of building these facilities and he builds with the seniors in mind. So that they have the walk-in showers, they have the facilities built right into these units that are in demand,” says Goodridge.
Several neighbourhood concerns revolved around traffic impact.
“A lot of the issues that were identified were already pre-existing issues,” Goodridge says. “The traffic study addressed those, made recommendations and the city was already incorporating those recommendations into their plan for the redevelopment of McKeown Avenue.”
Greenspace was another neighbourhood concern that he says is being addressed.
“We’re providing three times the maximum requirement that could be requested under the planning act, so the developer has done a great job in responding to the neighbourhood’s concerns,” says Goodridge.
Full council still needs to vote on the rezoning request.
