City staff are recommending that councillors give the thumbs up to a proposal that would bring hundreds of apartment units to Guelph’s south end.
In a report for the June 11 council meeting, staff are recommending approval of a proposal to build four apartment buildings with a total of 540 units at 1888 Gordon St., south of Poppy Drive.
The proposal being approved by council is slightly different than the one that was the focus of a public meeting in April 2017.
When the proposal for 1888 Gordon was first made to council in April 2017, 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 the 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, 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.
Along with the apartment towers, there are 59 townhouse units being proposed for the property.
As a result of this project, hundreds of trees on the property would have to be cut down.
According to the staff report, a total of 666 trees on site would need to be cut down, with 612 of them requiring compensation back to the city as specified by its tree bylaw. This would equate to either planting 1,836 native trees, or paying $500 per tree.
Some tree cutting on the property has already gotten underway. The report notes that this past March, the city issued a permit to cut down 165 trees.
The remainder of the trees identified for removal “will be reviewed and further considered at site plan approval,” according to the staff report.
The staff report also notes that the city will not receive any new parkland as a result of this development, instead receiving cash in lieu from the developer, as per the city’s parkland dedication bylaw.
The meeting to approve staff’s recommendation is slated for June 11, starting at 6 p.m. in council chambers.