Public weighs in on proposed seven-storey mixed-use building in Brockville

The ownership group of a proposed seven-storey mixed-use residential building on Home Street received criticism from community members at a public meeting of Brockville council’s planning and development committee Tuesday.

The building has been proposed by Ottawa-based construction firm Lion Trade Limited and would be located at 5 Home Street adjacent to Hardy Park on the site of a former spa and clinic. It would hold 94 residential units of varying size and house commercial space on its ground floor.

Associate planner at Fotenn, Tim Beed, noted several advantages to putting the building in its proposed location, such as the infill of currently underutilised space, the existence of established infrastructure in the area and proximity to amenities, all while adhering to guidelines laid out in the city’s Official Plan.

“The intent of the Official Plan promotes a full slate of key policy provisions through providing for reinvestment in this currently underutilized property that is complementary to the existing community and will drive the growth and evolution of this portion of Brockville and the community towards becoming a complete and sustainable community,” said Beed.

The group did formally request a series of amendments to both the official plan and zoning bylaws, including:

• Permission for a seven-story building (amendments are required for buildings exceeding five storeys, despite eight being allowed in Skyline Development Area),
• Permission to encroach into the angular plane 5.2 metres on Apple Street and 4.2 metres on Water Street
• Permission to amend the minimum building height at the street edge as well as a reduction to the minimum ground floor height of 4.5 metres to three metres.

Local residents who attended the meeting responded with a host of concerns ranging from increased traffic flow along Water Street, pedestrian safety, emergency vehicle access, water and sewer capacity, loss of trees, as well as certain personal costs as one resident noted the building would block her current view of Hardy Park from her balcony at the building she lives in just to the east.

Jillian Shaw, a resident who lives adjacent to the proposed building, expressed concern about disruptions from the construction period, noting an original plan had proposed only a four-storey building.

“What happened to the idea of a four-storey building?” asked Shaw. “That sounds more in keeping with what we would prefer.”

Arlaine Thomas, another resident of the area, questioned the need for commercial space.

“Do we really need commercial in this area?” she asked. “How many businesses are sitting vacant on King Street as you drive down?”

“It’s getting better than it was, but there are still a lot of empty business locations there that people can use,” said Thomas.

She pointed to the potential for increases in traffic volumes on Water and Apple Streets due to the new commercial spaces.

“Parking on Apple Street is always a premium,” she noted. “If you’ve ever attended anything like Canada Day over at Hardy Park, you know for sure that parking is a premium for all the residents of Brockville.”

Developer and president of Lion Trade Construction, Jack Billen, and principal architect, Ryan Koolwine, addressed residents’ concerns about the construction process and increased traffic volumes.

“It is a concern that we see often that comes up that your life is going to be upturned,” Billen said, turning to address the gathered citizens’.

“We try to mitigate this as much as possible and we are professionals. We personally try to make sure the site is safe, it’s clean. So, during the construction process, we absolutely follow the rules to a tee,” he said.

“With the increased traffic, it might make the area safer in the end because we’ll be changing things, making the sidewalks a little bit wider for pedestrians during the construction process. And we also upgrade the infrastructure while we’re doing this.”

Koolwine noted that they are giving the building more setback along Water Street than what zoning guidelines ask for.

“What we’re envisioning here is enhancing this with landscaped elements, perhaps some benches to really make this a comfortable kind of green buffer or a break from the edge of the street,” said Koolwine.

The building takes design cues from the surrounding architectural landscape of brick masonry that is characteristic of historic Brockville.

“What we want is a building that has character, that has relief, that doesn’t feel like a flat elevation,” said Koolwine.

The proposal comes amid an on-going housing crisis across Ontario.

Billen said that buildings of this nature can help ease the burden by allowing seniors to move out of their houses into something smaller and more manageable but still comfortable.

He noted that the baby boomer generation is reluctant to move out of their homes, but that transition needs to happen so that younger buyers can enter the market.

“That’s how you make things affordable.”

He added that that’s why they decided to go outside the norm to provide bigger-than-average sizes so that older folks looking to downsize can have a “happy transition.”

The building will host a variety of unit sizes, ranging from 500-600 square feet for individuals looking for a cheap rent, while also including larger sizes suitable to couples and families.

As for the ground-floor commercial tenants, Billen said that they are looking at everything from coffee shops to a gym.

“There’s even been talks of doing something for the marina…where boaters get off, they have a place to shower, they have somewhere to change and maybe some lockers associated with that,” he continued.

He also noted that they see an opportunity in providing park-goers a place to stop in to grab a snack and use the bathroom.

“We really wanted to contribute to the overall success of the public. And I think this area specifically has an opportunity to do that.”