An artist’s concept of the new Station View development with the Station Arts Centre in the foreground. The development will have underground parking.
By Jeff Helsdon
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
About 20 people attended a public meeting on Station View Developments Inc. to hear more details on the planned initiative.
The mixed-use development will feature a mix of commercial and residential built on top of an underground parking facility. The residential component will include up to 188 units and the commercial will be more than 17,000 square-feet. Included in the commercial is a proposal for a year-round farmer’s market.
The official plan amendment proposes to redesignate the subject property from an entrepreneurial district and community facility to an entrepreneurial district with special provisions for retail and high-density residential. The meeting was also for a zoning change from Special Major Institutional Zone and Entrepreneurial Zone to Special Entrepreneurial Zone. The purpose of the meeting was not to formulate a recommendation but to receive information from council and staff.
There were no questions to the planner from council about the application but Mayor Deb Gilvesy asked if there was enough water and sewer capacity to service the development. She was told a servicing study completed had been completed and there should be adequate services, although staff are still examining the study.
Lesley Hutton-Rhora, who is the project manager with G Douglas Vallee Ltd., explained the project was redesigned after concerns were raised by council members and the public during past meetings.
“A team of professionals, including architects, landscape architects, engineers, traffic consultants, and planners, were assembled to create a new vision for the development that better considered the concerns raised by the community,” she said.
The building height was reduced, parking was addressed, and more opportunities for retail space were added. Changes included reducing the buildings from 12 to nine stories, adding a pitched roof, reducing the number of units from 276 to 188, and increasing the parking ratios to boost parking. There will be a variety of housing types, with one, two, and three-bedroom apartments.
“It was done to appeal people of different income brackets and also to try to create a community that is multi=generational to provide housing for young professional, young families and seniors,” said architect Kristin Schreiner, of Martin Simmons Sweers Architects.
The development will have a central courtyard and be a permanent home for the Tillsonburg Farmer’s Market. The design was competed to minimize shadowing on neighbouring residents and was done with the town’s proposal to turn Bridge Street into a living street in mind.
“We’re not proposing big glass condo towers and we’re also not trying to do typical suburban design with a sea of parking with a building in the centre,” Schreiner said. “We are trying to create a contemporary design that still integrates traditional materials and motifs such as brick masonry and timber.”
Hanna Domagala of Station View Developments pointed out it’s rare when a developer has an entire town block for a new project. She said if this was all in townhouses it would take out 10 acres of farmland.
Deputy Mayor Dave Beres led off by questioning the development team, asking if the townhouses would be built so that they could be built higher in the future. He was told that was not in the design, but that’s not to say it couldn’t be.
Mayor Deb Gilvesy pointed out council has not yet approved the Bridge Street concept as a living street, saying council doesn’t even know the cost. When she was asked if it would be built in phases, Gilvesy was told it wouldn’t as phased development is difficult when there is underground parking. It’s estimated it will take two years to build.
Expanding questioning on the Bridge Street redevelopment, Coun. Chris Parker asked about the impact if it didn’t go ahead. He was told there would be none as the project was all built within the confines of the land.
Coun. Kelly Spencer asked if there was any parking underground, which she was told there wasn’t. She also asked if the green space in the middle is just for residents of the public. Domagala said it will likely be a hybrid model for safety reasons, open to the public during the day but closed at night.
With the floor open to the public, Tammy Tupper spoke in favour of the development. Saying she has a bachelors degree in architecture, she said the project excites her.
Three different residents raised concerns about the amount of parking for Station Arts Centre events at St. Mary’s Church and asked where the entrance to the parking garage would be.
Schreiner said there are 290 parking spaces for 188 units, and the access to the parking garage will be off Rolph Street. She also explained the company had done a parking study looking at use of spots in the area and figured all vehicles wouldn't be leaving at the same time.
Coun. Chrissy Rosehart noted that some of the residents may have more than one car. Schreiner explained this is why there is a parking ratio of 1.2 parking spots per resident.
The next step is for the county planner to come back with a recommendation to accept or deny the application and suggest conditions.
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