Further revisions have been made to a proposed apartment complex that could bring hundreds of residential units to the south end of the city.
According to files posted on the city’s website, the developers of 1888 Gordon St., just south of the intersection with Poppy Drive East, have made modifications to their proposal.
Last month, three new reports were submitted as part of the proposal, following a number of other modifications first submitted in January that were not previously reported.
Among the most notable changes is the number of buildings on the site. When the proposal for 1888 Gordon was first made to council in April 2017, the London-based Tricar Group was looking to construct four buildings: two 14-storey apartment buildings on the north end of the property with a single-storey amenity building between them, a 10-storey residential apartment building on the east end of the site and two four-storey apartment buildings on the south end.
Now, according to these submissions, the developer will bring the 10-storey building down to eight storeys, merge the two four-storey buildings into a single eight-storey building, and move the amenity building, now two-storeys tall, to the southwest corner of the property.
The space that would have been occupied by the one-storey amenity building will now be a central public plaza and outdoor amenity area.
When the project first came to council for a public meeting in April 2017, among the concerns raised was that the addition of hundreds of new residential units in the area would result in traffic problems.
A traffic study, completed by Stantec last year and submitted to the city in September, notes that a wider Gordon Street will be needed, due in part to this project, as well as other developments in the area.
“Widening of Gordon Street between Clair Road and Maltby Road will be required prior to the 2020 horizon year to accommodate the future background growth and other area background developments,” the report reads.
“Volumes are noted to exceed the planning level road capacity (900 vehicles per hour per lane) of a single lane road under 2020 future background traffic conditions.”
The study also recommends putting in traffic lights at the Gordon and Gosling Garden intersection. Both of these actions, according to Stantec’s report, would need to be done by 2020.
Another concern raised during the April 2017 meeting was the shadows that would be cast by the new development. An attached shadow study in the April 2018 submission to the city, also by Stantec, concludes that while there would be no impact in the height of summer, it’s a different story for the rest of the year.
“The shadows cast during the fall/spring solstice have minor impacts on the existing development adjacent to the site, specifically to the most southerly townhome units located on Hawkins Drive which are affected by Building 3’s shadows from 5 p.m. until sunset,” the report reads, referring to one of the eight-storey buildings.
“The shadows cast during the winter solstice again impact the townhome units on Hawkins Drive, as the shadows cover the majority of the townhomes from 2:18 p.m. until sunset.”