Mayor votes no, but Y Lofts gets $1M grant

City council voted a final time Monday to give $1 million in grants toward the $50-million conversion of the former YMCA building downtown into upscale apartments called Y Lofts — although Mayor Diane Therrien did not vote in favour of the grant.

Therrien said the grants come under a municipal incentive program meant to encourage developers to reuse older buildings in the central area.

But she said that every year at budget time it’s a struggle to advocate for marginal increases in rent supplements meant to help people avoid possible eviction.

“So I won’t be supporting this amount of money tonight,” Therrien said, referring to the $1 million for a developer’s high-end apartments.

“It’s something that my conscience just cannot support.”

Councillors gave preliminary approval with no debate at a committee meeting Dec. 2 and final approval on Monday.

The former Peterborough YMCA, at Murray and George Streets downtown, is being renovated as 136 luxury apartments by Toronto developer Atria.

The structures have now been torn down to make way for the apartments in a modern glass building that will be built around the heritage-protected facade of the original YMCA building at the intersection.

The downtown YMCA was vacated in 2007 when the new Balsillie Family Y opened on Aylmer Street.

Atria bought the property in 2014, but construction has taken longer than expected will the complexity of saving the facade of the historic building.

The building conversion is eligible for $1 million in grants under the Central Area Community Improvement Plan.

The plan offers incentive grants of up to $10 per square foot of residential conversion, a city staff report states.

In this case, the city proposes to offer $8.64 per square foot, based on 115,715 square feet of residential space (which adds up to about $1 million).

The report also states that the city has been saving money since 2017 in a fund for these incentive grants and the fund now has $1.3 million.

Meanwhile, it’s not the only city incentive grant Y Lofts is eligible to receive.

The project is also eligible for $30,000 under the city’s facade improvement program, the city report states, plus $55,945 in waived building permit fees.

A large construction crane was installed on the former Y in late summer.

Developer Hans Jain told The Examiner in October it would be a bit more than a year more before tenants will be able to move in.