Port plan goes to public
The city is expecting to draw a larger-than-usual turnout when it holds its first public meeting about the latest condominium proposal on razed land in the heart of Port Dalhousie.
A public meeting is set for Wednesday at Port Dalhousie Lions Club on Main Street to deal with a requested amendment to the city’s official plan and zoning.
“It’s standard process for any development application,” said City of St. Catharines urban design planner Scott Ritchie.
“This is just a little bit more public profile, on people’s minds. Everybody’s very interested in what’s going to happen there and how quickly.”
Fortress Real Developments, which acquired the property in 2015, submitted a formal planning application to the city in June for a mixed-use project called Union Waterfront Condos.
The plan calls for a 14-storey terraced building with 220 apartment units, a community space, public courtyard, parkette and 2,084 square metres of commercial space. It would have 258 underground parking spaces.
But the developer first must clear a hurdle. There are site-specific policies that apply to the land due to an Ontario Municipal Board ruling in February 2009 that was finalized in 2010.
The ruling, based on a plan by a previous developer, approved and requires a 17-storey mixed-use building with a maximum 80 apartments. There is also a requirement for a hotel, theatre and certain amount of commercial space.
Fortress has applied for an official plan amendment and zoning bylaw amendment so it can build its project.
Specifically, the company wants to increase the number of permitted apartment units, decrease the required amount of commercial uses, remove the theatre and hotel requirement, reduce the required parking and change the specific building height and setback requirements.
“This is the first chance for us to inform the neighbourhood about the application that’s been made, ask them what they think and get their feedback,” Ritchie said. “It’s an opportunity for us to get a sense of what the major issues are, the nature of the concerns that are on people’s minds.”
The city will go through its own review of the application, with various city departments and external agencies taking their own looks and making comments.
Ritchie said a report could go to city council by the end of this year or early next year depending on the kind of issues that come up.
Fortress hosted its own open house on Aug. 23 to let residents know what they were planning.
The company’s senior project manager, Travis Nolan, said 205 residents and interested business owners attended and 61 comment cards were filled out. He said there was a mixture of both positive responses and questions and concerns.
“A lot of people did like the look of the project and what we did with regard to the design of the project at grade, including the preservation of the existing heritage buildings,” he said.
“There were questions raised regarding the number of units proposed in the project, the parking associated with the project and traffic as a general comment, which is typical with any planning application that’s filed on a project.”
He said the company hopes to continue the discussion and the process.
So far, Fortress has been able to proceed with its anticipated timeline of hosting a community meeting in August and seeing the city hold a planning meeting in September.
“We do expect people to turn out for the meeting and we’ll be there to answer any questions that are raised as part of the discussion of the process,” Nolan said.
He and his team will also be available to answer questions before and after the meeting.
Fortress’s hope is to obtain planning approvals for the project and
start its sales launch in spring of 2018.
The 0.6-hectare property bordered by Lock Street, Lakeport Road and Hogan’s Alley has been a touchstone of controversy for more than a decade.
Previous proposals by various owners, including a 20-storey glass tower, divided the community. The site was the subject of a year-long battle at the Ontario Municipal Board.
Demolition of buildings on the site began in 2012 for a Port Place project and then stalled.
Fortress was a financier on that former project and acquired the property from the previous owners in January 2015.
Mayor Walter Sendzik said the public meeting is an important step in the planning process and an opportunity for the public to come out and learn more about the project.
“It’s a long time coming and there’s been a lot of interest in this property over the years,” Sendzik said.
“It’s good to see a company that is showing a commitment, that has been very public in its outreach, has been working with the community to get to this stage.
“So we’re looking forward to the public meeting and the subsequent staff report and a discussion at council and we’ll see where we go from there.”