There is light at the end of the proverbial tunnel for a west end affordable housing project looking to expand.
If all goes as hoped, shovels will be in the ground next spring for a redevelopment effort on Fife Road which will see the creation of 14 net new affordable housing units.
“It's been a frustrating process because it's taken so long. I mean, we started discussions with this and sort of came up with the idea … around five years ago,” said Howard Kennedy, president of UpBuilding! Non-Profit Homes, which operates about 70 units at 50-60 Fife Road which are provided at a mix of rent-geared-to-income and market rental rates. “Part of it is just there's an awful lot of paperwork and red tape and so on with both the city and the county to get things the way they want it to be able to proceed.”
UpBuilding! plans to demolish a two-storey building with a three-storey tower which contains four residential units and a community room. It is to be replaced by a three-storey structure with 18 one-bedroom townhouse units, including six deemed to be fully accessible at the ground level.
There’s a proposed total increase of eight bedrooms.
“It’s a good project,” said Kennedy. “We're giving what the community needs in terms of single-room apartments … which there's a need for that.”
The latest approval for the project came from the city’s committee of adjustment, which last week agreed to reduce the required minimum parking (to 95 from 102) as well as eliminate the need to rough-in electric vehicle charging equipment at 80 per cent of parking spaces.
Though the number of units is set to rise, there are no new parking spaces planned.
“The existing spaces provided are not fully subscribed at the present time,” explains the application submitted to the city. “It is anticipated that any additional parking demand generated by the new units can be absorbed by existing parking provisions as one-bedroom units are typically less car dependent.”
Though there are still some process steps to follow before demolition and construction can begin, the biggest remaining obstacle is funding, Kennedy said.
In response to a recent request for proposals from the County of Wellington, UpBuilding! is asking for about $1 million to help cover the cost. Assistance from the federal Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation is also being sought.
If construction begins in the spring, Kennedy said he’d like to see the project ready to start taking in tenants before the end of next year.
The property was the subject of several debates by city council in 2022 after UpBuilding announced its redevelopment plan.
At the time, the building was included on the municipal registry of heritage structures and council moved to have elements of the building protected under the Ontario Heritage Act. However, following objections from UpBuilding and claims that would drive up the cost of the project, city council later abandoned its conservation plan.
Last year the committee of adjustment agreed to UpBuilding!’s request for reduced visitor parking (to 13 from 20), increased density (to 84 units from 70) and reduced private amenity areas (to 10 metres per unit from 20 metres per unit).
