By Jennifer Irving
The city is proposing to re-introduce development fees that could affect an affordable housing project scheduled to begin this fall on Somerset Street West.
Bill Teron, a private developer, has bought the parking lot owned by St. John of the Evangelist Anglican Church for $1.8 million.
He intends to construct a 118- unit condominium for affordable housing.
Once he receives the necessary building permits a series of public consultations will take place to get the input of the community.
The units will be primarily rented to seniors and singles living on fixed incomes.
“Approximately 90 units have been reserved,” said Teron. “We’re almost sold out.”
The cost of each unit will be about $95,000, but the church is considering purchasing 40 of these units to rent out. The purchase of these units depends on the amount of funding that the church receives from parishioners and fellow faith organizations.
However, Rev. Garth Bulmer of St. John’s is nervous about the pending decision regarding development fees.
“This could be very negative on our project. It would add around $7,000 to each unit,” said Bulmer. “We’re trying to keep these affordable.”
The fees will be applied to new development projects to pay for additional city services that the buildings will require. Prior to amalgamation the city did apply these fees to developers, but cut them after the new city was formed to encourage downtown development.
Teron says he doesn’t think the charge is anything to worry about. If the fee is implemented, he doesn’t believe it would be applied to affordable housing projects.
“To speculate what a city does in the future is unnecessary,” he said.
Baseline ward Coun. Rick Chiarelli says the fees could, in fact, affect the St. John’s project. He says the city has to collect money from the developers in order to pay for the cost of additional city services that are required by a growing community.
“Every city in Ontario collects these fees,” he said. “Although social and co-op housing does tend to get a break from council.”
The 12-storey condominium will be built on the parking lot adjacent to the historic church. At least two levels of underground parking will be provided, one of which will be owned by the church.
The church is also responsible for the exterior design of the building. The congregation would like to ensure that the new building complements the design of the 111-year-old church.
The location of the church attracts parishioners of all “stages and styles of life,” said Bulmer. That’s how parishioners want to keep it and they feel that the development will help enhance that sense of community.