First proposed more than a decade ago, the developer behind a student housing project near the University of Guelph is in the final public stages of the approval process.
That plan calls for a two-tower building reaching up to 11-storeys tall, with a three to four-storey podium between them at 716 Gordon St. – the site of the former Royal Brock Hotel and Conference Centre. There would be 532 units inside, featuring 1,149 bedrooms, as well as a ground floor coffee shop.
Before shovels can hit the ground, the city’s committee of adjustment is being asked to consider zoning bylaw amendments that would allow for increased building length along Stone and Gordon, as well as fewer active entrances along each.
Those requests were left out of planning documents submitted to the city ahead of council’s approval of the project in October of 2023. Those omissions were made “in error,” according to the applications being considered this week.
City staff recommend approval.
“While in other circumstances the proposed variances may not be considered minor, given the unique site history and additional existing site-specific regulations that shape the built form on site, the proposed variances can be considered minor and in conformity with the intent of the zoning bylaw,” the staff recommendation states. “Likewise, staff are satisfied that the proposal is desirable for the appropriate development of the land.”
The committee of adjustment is set to consider the requested planning approvals on Thursday, during a meeting set to begin at 4 p.m. and held at city hall. It will also be streamed live at guelph.ca/live.
If approved at that time, city staff-level approvals would still be needed for site plan design and building permits before construction can begin.
Back in 2023, when the project was in front of city council, the plan wasn’t without its detractors. A couple of area residents called for the proposal to be rejected, raising concerns about the number of mature evergreen trees to be cut down as well as the potential for noise from the building’s planned outdoor terraces.
“We’re not a bunch of NIMBYs,” said Georgia Mason of the Mayfield Residents Association. “It feels to us as though developers can win an OMB decision and yet still push more and more, with the city simply conceding with no meaningful public consultation.”
“This developer succumbed to an instinct to wring every last dollar out of the site,” added Bill Mungall, suggesting approval would set a precedent regarding outdoor patios. “The city must be resolute and refuse this application.”
Coun. Phil Allt was the only council member present to vote against approval at that time, expressing concern about the possibility of student alcohol consumption and potentially dangerous behaviour on the building’s terraces.
The development plan has gone through several incarnations since it was first proposed in 2011 and ultimately approved by the then-Ontario Municipal Board (OMB) in 2013.
A site plan for development was submitted to the city in 2018, seeking approval for a building with four connected towers – 11 storeys, nine storeys, six storeys and four storeys.
A revised plan was submitted in 2019, with another version given to city officials in 2020. That plan was subsequently withdrawn and the council-approved project was proposed in 2023.
The Royal Brock hotel building – it was a Best Western before that and a Ramada Inn going back even further – was demolished in 2020 after Guelph Fire Department officials raised safety concerns about the then-vacant building.