A 27-storey condo building proposed by Claridge Homes on Lisgar Street has yet to be approved by city council and the Centretown community is already divided over what the development could mean.
City planners originally raised objections about its proposed height, but the city recently approved the new Centretown Community Design Plan, which will allow buildings as tall as 27 storeys to be built along the downtown business strip.
The condo proposal was devised to fit the new regulations and join several other buildings of similar heights in the area that have already been approved or are under construction.
The project is slated for 287 Lisgar Street, on what is now a parking lot across from Dominion-Chalmers United Church.
“We look at it positively, but it’s a bit premature to tell right now how it’s going to impact us,” says Gale Smyth, a volunteer at the church.
The Centretown Citizens Community Association, on the other hand, is more wary about the development despite not having seen the formal proposal yet.
“We do have concerns about height, and the association feels like it goes against the character of the area to have buildings that high,” says Robert Dekker, vice-president of the CCCA.
Another concern for the CCCA is the eight levels of underground parking that have been planned at the site to ensure minimal spillage of cars onto side streets in the area.
According to Dekker, a similar condo building already under construction across the street has had problems with its parking garage being dug so deep.
“There were issues from going so deep, and it appeared to cause some shifting in neighbouring buildings,” he says.
Claridge’s application also asks for a minor change to be made in city guidelines to allow its building to be built closer to the street.
The Ontario Municipal Board ruled in 2010 that Claridge could put a 16-storey condo at the same location and, at that time, granted permission for it to be built closer to the street.
Claridge argues in its latest proposal that “the difference in experience for the pedestrian between a 16-storey and a 27-storey building is negligible as such” and wants its new condo to follow the original ruling by the OMB.