At long last, there's some movement on a Grove Street residential development project near Highway 400.
Barrie councillors have approved, in principle, moving along the site plan for a large residential development at 10-24 Grove St. W., which is the former YMCA site.
It would have, when complete, 928 units of housing and 1,084 parking spaces.
The public meeting for this project was held in 2017, which is also when an Official Plan amendment and site-specific rezoning were approved by the city council of the day.
Coun. Craig Nixon, who represents this area of the city, said he’s aware of the timelines.
“I’m assured they’re moving along as quick as they can because if it’s going to take 10 years, the whole landscape around it can change in 10 years,” he said.
Nixon noted the developer, Grove Street Developments, has addressed some of the concerns, including an entrance off Bayfield Street that will be strictly for emergency vehicles.
The project’s first two phases would have 798 units consisting of three residential towers at 23, 25 and 27 storeys, sharing a five-storey parking podium with rooftop amenity space.
Phase three would have 130 units, consisting of a three-storey townhouse podium along Grove Street connected to a nine-storey tower by a parking structure, also with rooftop amenity space.
There would also be a central plaza amenity, a playground area, along with a pedestrian pathway between Toronto and Bayfield streets.
The site is just more than six acres in size and fronts both Grove and Toronto streets.
Next steps would include finalizing the site and building design, confirming site servicing, foundation depth, landscaping, road access and widening dedications, calculation of fees and securities, and registration of a site plan agreement.
