By Pepper Parr
September 16th, 2020
BURLINGTON, ON
Another one.
The Adi brothers – probably the largest developer in this city – certainly the most aggressive.
This one is planned for the Aldershot community – part of the now underway Station West – developer is the ADI Group.
Billed as a Pre-application Consultation Virtual Meeting the ADI Development Group is exploring the opportunity to transform 1120 Cooke Boulevard into a transit oriented community.
Station West is to the east of this latest proposal; ADI has always planned additional structures on the site.
If ADI Development Group chooses to pursue this redevelopment, it would require an amendment to the City of Burlington Official Plan and Zoning By-law.
The pre-application consultation is scheduled to seek community feedback that will assist in shaping the future proposal. The current design options will require an amendment to the City of Burlington’s Official Plan and Zoning Bylaw. The current Official Plan designation of the site is Mixed Use Corridor, and the current Zoning is Mixed Use Corridor.
No development applications have been submitted to the City of Burlington at this time, and the City has not made any decisions on this proposal.
A Pre-application Community meeting has been scheduled to discuss this potential redevelopment, so that public can provide feedback to Adi Development Group at this early stage.
The Pre-Application Community Meeting will take place:
Date: Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2020
Time: 5:30-7 p.m.
Participate Online via Zoom: https://zoom.us/j/91873809076
Webinar ID: 918 7380 9076
(Internet connection required – Zoom User Guide available at www.burlington.ca/1120cooke)
Participate by Telephone- (audio only) 647-374-4685
During the meeting, City planning staff will provide an overview of the development application review process and opportunities for public participation in the process. Adi Development Group will provide an overview of their redevelopment plans.
This proposed development consists of two different design options for community feedback. The first of which consists of three towers with heights ranging from 29 to 39 storeys, and the second option consists of four towers with heights ranging from 18 to 39 storeys. Both options yield the same approximate number of units, 1,258.
Ward 1 Councillor Kelvin Galbraith standing on the spot where the proposed development would be built. Cranes in the background are putting up Station West.
There will be a question and answer session to share your thoughts about the proposal with Adi Development Group. Councillor Kelvin Galbraith and the Mayor will also be in attendance to hear your input.
Nautique – the legal fight over this tower revealed just how creative lawyers for developers can be. It was the existence of a bus terminal, smaller than most kitchens that made it possible. Planning blew the OMB hearing – the developer got everything they wanted.
Residents can subscribe to the proposed development’s webpage at Burlington.ca/ development projects to receive any updates about this proposal.
The meeting is not going to result in any decisions; it is an opportunity for the developer to hear what the public thinks and for the public to see what the developer has in mind.
These meetings are now required by the city before a development application can be submitted. Comments made at the meeting are recorded and become part of the application when it is filed.
ADI is a major development in Burlington. The Nautique at the intersection of Martha and Lakeshore Road is now underway.
Station West is well underway – this most recent proposed development is really a part of the very large Station West plan.
Early site plan for Station West that is now under construction. The Cooke Street towers would be to the left of this project.
When Ward 2 residents started pushing for more control in the over intensification that was happening in their ward, residents in the other wards attitude was ” I don’t live in Ward 2, not my concern”. We (ECoB) tried to explain that this would be happening city wide.
Well, the time has come. All the delegating in the world will not change the outcome.
My suggestion, which I learned the hard way, is to try to work with the developers. Resident groups should decide after looking at the proposed application just what would be important to them to make these developments more resident friendly and try to negotiate them ( not intensification, as this is mandated by the province) with the developers. Developers don’t want to go to LPAT if they don’t have to. Going to LPAT is costly and delays the project.
This is what took place with the Appleby Village development and the grassroots organization was very successful. They worked with the developer. Did they get everything they would have liked – no, but they got much more than if the developer went to LPAT?
If the resident group for the 2100 Brant Street development had done this, they could have been much more successful and the settlement with the city could possibly have included a traffic light which was one of their most important concerns. After all the time, effort, and money this group expended trying to work with the City and LPAT they got nowhere.
Times have changed and residents who would like input in how their city looks will need to change the way they operate.
Well said Penny. Hopefully the Burlington communities have been paying attention regardless of where they live. A huge lesson many of us learned was the cost of the downtown Mobility Hub/MTSA to the downtown the community wanted introduced by the last Council. This was followed by the current Council’s failure to work with the community and our MPP as soon as they should have to remove the MTSA designation from downtown and move the Urban Growth Centre as some candidates promised to do in the 2018 election. McKenna was on to this right after her election as were the community groups but the newly elected council preferred the Interim Control By-law and have only recently caught up to community wishes.
Better wait to see how many people buy into the current Lego barracks before building more.
Until LPAT is shut down, the city needs to start strategic land buying to preempt unwanted/unsuitable development.
Also, development charges should be increased to reflect the true cost of these highrises; e.g., the cost of expanding infrastructure capacity, the cost of being prepared to fight fires at high altitudes, and the cost of demolition when these buildings reach the end of their safe/useful lives.