By Pepper Parr
April 27th, 2019
BURLINGTON, ON
I want to try and connect some of the dots.
While walking out of city hall recently (yes, I was in the building) a planning consultant, who once worked for a municipality sidled up to me and asked how things were going.
The view from the corner of Elizabeth and Caroline with what was originally going to be an eight storey medical services building, then to the south an above ground parking garage and then the 17 storey that already has residents.
We chatted for a few moments during which time the independent planner said “I was able to get them 17 storeys on John Street.”
The developer was named – I left the conversation wondering what piece of property on John Street could the planner have been talking about?
That piece of information stayed lodged in my mind. I couldn’t figure out which piece of land was going to have a 17 storey building on it.
A few days later, during a conversation about a development that had three parts to it, the person I was talking to said that the two parts of the site that were yet to be developed had been sold.
That is when the penny dropped.
Have the development interests in the above ground parking (green roof) and the ‘future office building been sold?
Was the 17 storeys that the planner “got” related to the development that has the Berkeley condominium that is now completed?
The original plan for that site was to have the 17 storey condominium, 8 levels of above ground parking and an 8 storey medical services building at the north end fronting on Caroline.
When the project was approved the city had concerns that the developer would not complete the development and included a provision that set out a fine of $300,000 if all three parts were not built.
Are those 17 storeys the independent planner “got” for the the developer going to sit on Caroline between John and Elizabeth?
Related news story:
The original plan for the site in John and Caroline
The Berkeley as it was being built.
This a just another “sharks versus guppies” tale in the ongoing saga between developers and our City’s planners. Did anyone realistically think that a slap-on-the-wrist $300k fine would impact the decision-making of Carriage Gate?
if 25% of the units are three bedroom and at least 15% off all units are geared to income rentals then it has my full support. Not sure I should hold my breath though.