An idea with merit, but just too big.
That was the feeling of Guelph City Council at a planning meeting Monday night as it voted to reject a proposal for a 25-storey building for Downtown Guelph that would have been the tallest building ever built in the city.
Council voted unanimously in favour of the city staff recommendation that the proposal by Skyline subsidiary Skydevco for the corner of Fountain Street and Wyndham Street be rejected.
Many liked the idea of redeveloping the site, which is currently zoned for up to six storeys, but not at 25 storeys.
“That location is primed for mixed use and development,” Mayor Cam Guthrie said. “I firmly believe it shouldn’t be six, but it shouldn’t be 25.”
The mixed-use tower would have been a mix of retail, office but mostly residential use.
It called for 3,900 square feet of ground floor retail space and 67,000 square feet of office floor space on the first four floors. Above the fourth floor would be 21-storey tower containing 180 apartments.
There would be underground parking for 207 spaces.
“I hope Skydev takes this message away and comes back with something more compatible,” coun. Dan Gibson said.
Longtime councillor Cathy Downer was surprised the developer never adjusted their plan after hearing concerns at an earlier public meeting.
“I have to say that in all my time on council I have rarely ever seen an application like this come back with no changes,” Downer said. “I’m really disappointed and I’m really surprised.”
Councillor Leanne Piper Caron said the Downtown Secondary Plan is relatively new and developed with a lot of public consultation and that process and plan has to be respected and supported.
Coun. Dominique O’Rourke liked the mixed use of the proposal and other elements, but at the same time she said she would like to see those positives come back “in a more appropriate fit.”
“I’ll be intrigued to see what comes next,” she said.
Rob Mullin, lawyer for SkyDevco, a division of Skyline, said the project represents a $100-million investment in Downtown Guelph.
“This is a unique opportunity to revitalize downtown, especially south of the train tracks,” Mullin said.
Mullin pointed to Provincial Policy Statement 2020, which the province delivered in May and supports such developments adjacent to a transit station, has not been considered by planning staff.
Chamber of Commerce CEO Shakiba Shayani delegated in favour of the proposal.
Having more people living downtown “Is vital for the future prosperity of our community,” she said.
Shayani hinted that Skyline might move its head office from the community if this proposal doesn’t move forward.
In the end council backed its staff recommendation.
“There are many reasons for refusal,” senior development planner Katie Nasswetter said: the building is too tall, not an appropriate location, should be held for stand-alone office use and several studies did not adequately address issues such as wind and shadow impact.
Her report also pointed to the Downtown Secondary Plan which says the Basilica of Our Lady should be the “most prominent building downtown.” This building would have been 20 metres taller than the Basilica.
Noted heritage advocate Susan Ratcliffe, delegating at Monday’s meeting, called it “a very strange building that violates so many values that we hold dear in Guelph.”
