By Rachael Raven
The James Street Feed Co. is one step closer to demolition after city council this week unanimously approved a proposal to build a seven-storey condo in its place earlier this month.
Totalling more than 62,000 sq. ft., the mixed-use building will have five levels of underground parking, retail space at street level, one floor of commercial office space, and five floors of residential space.
Holmes said the proposal is great for the street.
“I am very pleased,” she said. “The proposal provides everything that we want on Bank Street . . . It’s got retail on the ground floor . . . and it gets a lot of people living downtown. [It creates] a good, pedestrian-friendly atmosphere.”
Owners of Saab Salon, Frank and Nina Saab, agree with Holmes. They would like to see Bank Street cleaned up and more large scale residential developments in the downtown core. For them, and other local businesses, this would mean higher pedestrian traffic and more permanent customers.
“This development is very positive. Bank Street has so much potential that is not being used . . . residential developments need to come back into downtown rather than out in the suburbs,” said Frank Saab.
In addition to offering retail and residential space for the neighbourhood, the proposed condominium would provide ample underground parking.
This concerns David Gladstone, member of the Centretown Citizens’ Community Association. He said an underground parking lot will increase traffic entering and exiting off Bank Street and the surrounding side streets.
“What residents aren’t aware about is the magnitude of the underground parking,” he said. “It’s really more than the building requires.”
Despite this, the building proposal seems to have few other drawbacks.
According to a report prepared for the city’s planning and environment committee, the condominium will incorporate elements of Victorian and Edwardian design in order to retain the neighbourhood’s historic charm. To achieve this, the building will be constructed with stone and glass at ground level, while using brick with metal trim on upper levels.
Also, in order to reduce the overall height of the building, the upper residential levels will recede back from Bank Street. This will give the illusion that it is only four or five storeys, rather than seven.
“Height is usually a concern for neighbours,” said Holmes. But in the current proposal “the height is not overpowering.”
On recommendation from the city, the developers will also be planting large canopy trees along the boulevards on both James and Bank streets. This will also help make the building seem smaller and will provide shade for pedestrians.
Although approval from the city has been granted, Holmes is unsure when construction (on the James Street property) will begin.
Two similar condominiums are planned within the same block as the James Street Feed Company, one at Bank and Gladstone, and the other above the new location of Galaxy Camera at Bank and Florence.