City staff give thumbs up to one highrise, thumbs down to the other
Yes London I think We are on the right Path to great things!!!!
515 Richmond St
22-storey tower on Wellington Street at Wolfe Street, across from the park.
Auburn Developments isn’t giving up on its plan to build a highrise next to Victoria Park.
City staff is not supporting a pitch by the developer to build a 22-storey tower on Wellington Street at Wolfe Street, across from the park.
But the builder will revise its proposal in time for a meeting Monday of city council’s planning and environment committee in hope of winning favour, said Steve Stapleton, vice-president Auburn.
“We want to build this and we want to do it in the short term,” he said.
“We believe this is not just good for Auburn but for the city. We want to do our part to revitalize the core. We truly believe intensification is good for a city core.”
The Auburn proposal would require the demolition of two office buildings, of five and two storeys, to make way for a 151-unit tower. The developer would add 227 parking spaces above ground and below.
The highrise would abut the stately historic Wolfe Street streetscape. City staff recommend rejecting it because it isn’t consistent with the heritage look in the Woodfield neighbourhood and would result in “over intensification of the site,” meaning too many people living there.
“Buildings on Wolfe Street and Wellington Street (north of the subject site) have a consistent heritage character,” the staff report says.
Some Londoners object to a tower of that scale opposite Victoria Park, adding it will give what is now an open space a “sense of enclosure,” the report says.
“The proposed development, while including a high quality building that would contribute to achieving several of the city of London’s planning objectives, is not an appropriate form of development on the subject property.”
Kate Rapson, chairperson of the Woodfield Community Association, said the city staff report sums up the sentiment in the heritage district.
“It’s a great report. We agree with the city on this one. (The highrise) is not in keeping with the heritage district and there is not enough space between low-rise neighbours and the highrise,” she said.
Auburn has held two public meeting with Woodfield residents to get their feedback on the development. If the company submits a new plan Monday, it would be the third reiteration of the proposal that has already shrunk to 22 storeys from 25.
“This is a challenging one, overall it is not as though they missed on all points. It is a beautiful building, well-designed and modified from the original proposal to take into account the community,” said Michael Tomazincic, manager of current planning.
Rendering of proposed highrise at 515 Richmond St.
At the same meeting, a proposed 32-storey highrise at 515 Richmond St. to be built by Old Oak has been given a green light by staff.
The 101-metre tower would be built on one hectare of land and have 175 one- and two-bedroom units.
“Both of these proposals show how confident the building community is in the downtown, these are two core area proposals that show there is a market here,” Tomazincic said.
Old Oak plans to take down part of a commercial arcade fronting on Richmond so the tower would front on the streetscape, with a plaza in front of it. There would still be a commercial plaza fronting on Richmond, albeit smaller.
A 14-storey apartment building at 155 Kent St. and a 12-storey retirement residence at 170 Kent St. abut the site to the north.
After notices were sent to neighbours some objections were filed based on the shadow the tower would cast, traffic congestion and vehicular access to parking and loss of privacy, a city report says.
“An apartment building, as constructed, as Old Oak is requesting, absolutely destroys our beautiful cityscape, our view from our balcony, our peaceful surroundings from the 10th floor, and blocks our sunshine from the south,” states a letter in the report from Julia and Murray Pretti, who live in the Kent Street tower.
“There is also a network of duck/geese/birds which call our area home! We are interested in their activity and future!”
ndebono@postmedia.com
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