A 136-unit townhouse development is proposed for the city’s south end, pending rezoning approvals.
The proposal, made by a numbered company involving Reid’s Heritage Homes, would see the creation of eight blocks of townhouses and relocation of an historic stone building located at 331 Clair Rd. between Gordon Street and Victoria Road.
“Two types of stacked townhouses are proposed, including stacked townhouses with front doors and rear garages along Clair Road, and traditional stacked townhouses on the southern portion of the subject lands,” states a cover letter posted to the city’s website. “The proposed development includes a central amenity area in which the existing dwelling on the subject lands is proposed to be relocated.”
The property is home to a stone home built circa. 1850 – known as the James Hanlon farmhouse – and listed on the city’s municipal heritage registry but not designated for protection under the Ontario Heritage Act (OHA).
“Overall, the retention and conservation of the building over the long-term is considered a beneficial impact,” states a heritage impact study for the project, which suggests the relocation will have a “neutral” impact.
“Adverse impacts are related to the removal of the original foundation and the rear summer kitchen. These impacts can be mitigated through documentation, salvage and commemoration,” the study report continues.
According to a city staff report given to Heritage Guelph in June, the property meets four criteria for designation under the OHA. Only two are required for city council to consider designation.
Those criteria are:
- It’s a representative example of the Ontario farmhouse form and style that was popular in the second half of the 19th century
- It features a high degree of craftsmanship in the execution of its original stonework and exterior wood trim
- It is of historic and associative value because of its direct ties to the Hanlon family, an important settler family of Puslinch Township and what is now the City of Guelph
- It is of contextual value as it is important in defining, maintaining and supporting the historical character of the Clair Road East streetscape and as a vestige of early farming landscapes of Puslinch Township and what is now Guelph.
This isn’t the first plan proposed for the property. In 2012, the property was proposed to be split in two, with the historic farmhouse kept on a 0.11-hectare parcel and 60 townhouse units built on the remaining 1.55 hectares.
City council didn't take a stance on the proposal, resulting in an appealed being filed with to the Ontario Municipal Board. The appeal was dismissed in 2015.
A public meeting is set to take place during city council’s planning meeting next month, on Oct. 17. That meeting, to be held at city hall and streamed live at guelph.ca/live, is slated to begin at 6 p.m.
A staff report on the proposal is expected to be publicly released on Oct. 6.
In order to speak to council during the open house, the deadline to register as a delegate or provide written comments is 10 a.m. on Oct. 13.
Unregistered delegates will also be provided an opportunity to speak.
