Ashcroft floats tower vision for Westboro convent land
Coun. Leiper says he can’t support proposal for a 25-storey building
Ashcroft Homes, the developer of the old Westboro convent property, is offering an alternative vision for the remainder of the five-acre site and it includes a 25-storey tower.
The company has the city’s blessing to develop the old Soeurs de la Visitation land on Richmond Road, and in fact has already opened the first phase of condos in a nine-storey building along the main drag.
The rest of the site is empty, except for the heritage monastery, which must be used for some kind of community benefit, as directed by the Ontario Municipal Board.
The convent redevelopment has been one of the most controversial planning issues at city hall in recent years, and Kitchissippi Coun. Jeff Leiper says it still leaves a bad taste in the mouths of his constituents.
Now, the company is proposing to change course by shifting the approved density to a taller structure with an adaptive reuse of the monastery.
Ashcroft couldn’t be immediately reached for comment.
Leiper said there’s a lingering doubt about Ashcroft in the community.
“It’s palpable,” Leiper said. “Residents are certainly highly mistrustful of Ashcroft in the wake of the original convent battle.”
That original battle included a fight for extra height and controversy over the company’s wishes to build a road through the Byron linear park.
According to Leiper, there’s still some disagreement over what would truly be considered a community use in the monastery.
Revamping the monastery is a challenge for Ashcroft. The company says on its website that it examined the structure last year and realized a lot of work needs to happen before a tenant moves in.
For the rest of the site, Ashcroft is trying to decide how to distribute an approved 372,000 square feet of space.
The original plan for calls for an L-shaped building and a rectangular building behind the convent. The buildings would be nine and four storeys, respectively. A courtyard would be in the middle.
The alternative concept has a long building with the tower connected to the monastery. The tower gradually narrows as it reaches the top storey. Another building has a similar step-up design, without a tower. The buildings appear to have green roofs.
Ashcroft is using an online survey to collect feedback from the public.
Leiper said he couldn’t support a 25-storey concept for the property, based on what he has heard so far from constituents. The design is interesting, but people can’t get past the height of the building, he said.