Tower threatens heritage, council warned
King Street development in Waterloo debated
WATERLOO — Developer Scott Higgins sees a landmark highrise that will boost downtown appeal and help turn Waterloo into a capital of creativity.
“We shouldn’t be scared of big things and big dreams,” he told Waterloo council. “This is a place to celebrate creativity.”
Heritage advocate Kae Elgie sees an oversized tower that will dwarf neighbours, disrupt the historic streetscape and set downtown King Street on the wrong path to ever-higher buildings.
“It’s just not the right building for this location,” she told council. “If we allow this project to proceed as presented, at the very least we are wasting hundreds, possibly thousands of hours of staff, councillors’ and residents’ time.”
Opposing arguments loomed large Monday as a planning debate launched over twin condominium towers proposed at 70 King St. N. where a former post office sits vacant. The site is on King Street, Bridgeport Road and Regina Street.
Higgins wants to erect towers reaching 11 storeys above King and 24 storeys above Regina. That’s roughly triple the permitted height on King. It’s within permitted height on Regina.
The latest version calls for 321 residential units with 322 parking spaces and 367 bedrooms, all valued at more than $100 million.
To pitch the towers, Higgins promotes the project as a gamechanging community-building venture. Lower floors and streetlevel space would be partly dedicated to educating children in science and culture, like a minor hockey arena to develop thinking skills.
“We’re trying to do something more than just a real-estate project,” said Higgins, president of Hip Developments, which is building throughout the region.
Council would have to alter city plans and zoning. It has taken no stance as the planning debate begins.
Elgie said there’s lots to like about the project, but warned it is in the wrong place, undoing public effort to preserve historic King Street.
“If we aren’t going to listen to, and abide by, the carefully worked out plans and guidelines our professional planners come up with, then why do we bother having them?” said Elgie, a former president of the local branch of the Architectural Conservancy Ontario.
Resident Stephen Herzog, who lives near the proposed towers, raised similar concerns, warning council to be careful about easing height restrictions.