Downtown Barrie could be reaching even higher.
A public meeting was held Tuesday evening for plans to build 21 storeys at 17 Sophia St. E., 3, 5, 7 and 11 McDonald St., and 58 and 60 Clapperton St. This development would have 253 residential units, 256 square metres of ground-floor commercial space and three levels of underground parking, together with indoor and outdoor amenities.
Weston Consulting's Michael Vani, representing developer Black Creek Group, was asked about affordable housing there at Tuesday’s meeting.
“In our current Official Plan, we’ve a goal of 10 per cent affordable units in all new developments and our new Official Plan, which is yet to be ratified by the province, we have a goal of 15 per cent affordable units in all new developments,” said Coun. Keenan Aylwin, who represents this part of Barrie. “Will you be meeting that target and…how will you be meeting that target and demonstrating that you are conforming with our Official Plan?”
“At present, there (are) no affordable housing units proposed for the development that would fall under the definition of affordable in the Official Plan,” Vani answered. “The application is proposing a wide range of different unit types that will increase the housing supply and affordability in the area.
“We also note that the (affordable housing) policies do speak to a wide range of affordable housing across the entire (urban) growth centre (downtown Barrie), not on just each individual application," he added.
At almost three-quarters of an acre, the land is located on the southwest corner of McDonald and Clapperton streets, west of the Barrie Public Library’s downtown branch.
The property assembles seven separate parcels of land that forms an irregularly shaped site. Two of the parcels are occupied with single-detached homes on Clapperton Street that would be demolished for the proposed development, while the other parcels on McDonald and Sophia streets are vacant — land that is generally flat and contains a variety of trees and shrubs, the majority of which would be removed before the site is redeveloped.
The Black Creek Group wants site-specific provisions to permit reduced building setbacks, an increase in height and gross-floor area, along with reductions to parking, the percentage of ground floor commercial space and the setbacks to an underground parking structure.
A public meeting is one of the first stages of Barrie’s planning process.
The rezoning application now goes to city planning staff for a report to city councillors, sitting as planning committee. Staff are targeting the first or second quarter of 2023 for the report on the rezoning application.
Affordable housing is a range of housing types allowing families and individuals, of all income levels, to find suitable places to live without spending a disproportionate percentage of their income on housing. Affordable housing can include ownership, rental or subsidized housing.
The city defines affordable rental housing as a unit for which the rent doesn’t exceed 30 per cent of the gross annual household income for low- to moderate-income households. That income is based upon the most recent Canada Census statistics for Barrie, updated every five years.
