Kitchener council caught between, old, new, future

A major decision being made by Kitchener council this Monday will shape the city’s future for years to come, and we can only hope the politicians rise to the challenge.

At stake is a multi-million-dollar development that would breathe new life into the heart of the city but, as well, possibly threaten the integrity of a fine old neighbourhood with tree-lined streets and Victorian homes. Will it be a go or not?

The developers want to expand the showcase Breithaupt Block — headquarters for Google’s Canadian development team — by building a 12-storey office tower and a five-storey parking garage on land on Moore Avenue between Wellington and Breithaupt streets.

That plan has neighbours pushing back against a proposal they insist is too tall and too close to singlefamily homes that will languish in the tower’s shadows.

Finding a compromise that pleases everyone will be tricky and test city council’s skills to the limit.

What makes the politicians’ call especially difficult is that both sides present strong cases.

In many ways, the project being proposed by Perimeter Development Corp. and Allied REIT is what the city, Waterloo Region and Ontario government all want and encourage in their policies and laws.

Each of these governments desires greater urban density — more residents and workers in city cores. And the region’s $800-million-plus light rail transit project went ahead precisely to meet this goal.

The impressive changes made to the Breithaupt block so far — with its redeveloped rubber factory and elegant, new “glass-box” building — prove the developers can deliver results as stunning as the designer’s plans.

Moreover, the developers have heeded neighbourhood concerns and offered a slightly smaller tower moved as far back from the homes as possible.

Even that hasn’t mollified the neighbours who say the tower would still be too high.

Bolstering their argument is the city’s Planning Around Rapid Transit Stations Midtown report. It concluded a tower on the site should be no higher than six stories.

So what should city council do with a project that, while flying in the face of one of the city’s own reports, has been recommended for approval, as is, by city staff ?

The decision civic leaders make on this project will be crucial for this midtown community.

But whatever city council does will also have huge implications all along the light rail line — wherever the dreams of developers clash with the reality of homeowners already there.

How do we handle worthy, competing interests wherever the LRT goes in Kitchener, Waterloo and, some day, Cambridge?

The answers must come from us all — citizens, politicians and developers alike. We need to think and work together to rebuild communities that will serve us and last for decades.

For citizens, this means somehow realistically balancing neighbourhood concerns with the needs of the greater community. For developers, it means sensitivity and compromise. For politicians it means communicating with the public at every step of the way and managing each proposal in a clear and open manner. Explain to us all the vision.

None of this will be easy. But the future isn’t just coming — it’s here. New jobs, new residents, new prosperity and new tensions have arrived in Waterloo Region. How we respond will define us and this region in the 21st century.