Expanded plan for Kitchener townhouse development approved
An expanded plan for a townhouse development in Kitchener has been approved by council.
The development at 32-42 Windom Rd. — in the Centreville Chicopee neighbourhood near Fairway Road North and Thaler Avenue — is proposed to be a purpose-built rental community, consultant Dave Galbraith told councillors Monday night.
The applicant is listed as Jackman Property Holdings, care of Vive Development, which focuses on the rental market.
The plan, approved at a special council meeting following a planning committee meeting, will see two three-and-a-half storey buildings constructed with a total of 58 stacked townhomes.
The infill project “contributes to the diversity of housing within the neighbourhood by providing multiple dwellings in a low-rise setting,” said senior city planner Eric Schneider.
The unit mix includes 18 one-bedroom, 20 two-bed, 18 three-bed and two four-bedroom units, but none are considered affordable housing.
The two properties currently have a single-detached home and a fiveunit building converted from a former detached dwelling, a planning report said.
A previous proposal for 42 Windom Rd., approved by council in 2022, was for a three-storey, 24unit rental building with a mix of studio and one-bedroom units.
That concept changed once the property at 32 Windom Rd. was acquired and consolidated into a larger parcel.
The new development will have 47 surface parking spots, with an outdoor amenity area at the rear of the property.
Coun. Margaret Johnston urged the developer to include a play area if possible in the outdoor space for families who’d likely live in the townhomes.
“If there’s a way of you doing that on this property, I think it would be really important for the families there.”
It’s estimated that only six of 88 trees identified in an arborist’s report for the proposal can be retained.
“The development does take up much of the boundary of the property, so the vast majority of the trees are expected to be removed in order to accommodate it,” Galbraith said, adding they’d work with city staff on a tree planting plan during the site plan process.
A city report notes that plans for the 58-unit complex were revised in response to comments from staff and the public, increasing the number of visitor parking spots and the size of the amenity area and providing an indoor bicycle storage space for each unit.
Ward Coun. Dave Schnider thanked the developer and staff for listening to some of the concerns.
“I think this is really good infill in a really good place,” he said.