The city should abandon its $3-million plans for modular, supportive housing at Barrie’s old fire-hall site on Vespra Street, a staff report concludes.
“It is clear that there are limitations to development on the site,” said Rick Pew, director of corporate facilities, the report’s author. “The site conditions will not allow for a quick build of the supportive housing that council and the community are seeking. They will also require an experienced construction firm.
“Given the amount of work and resulting time to construct any form of housing on this challenging site, staff are recommending that the County of Simcoe be consulted with respect to alternative projects or sites that may allow for the quicker delivery of safe, supportive housing in the community," he added.
The motion councillors will consider Monday night is to receive the staff report.
But given the significant development constraints associated with the Vespra Street site, the motion also says staff should consult with the county regarding its interest in this property during the longer term for affordable or supportive housing and report back to Barrie councillors.
Staff would also work with the county to determine sites or projects, other than on Vespra/Innisfil/Victoria streets, that the city could consider supporting to allow for a quicker provision of supportive housing.
In January, city council added the $3-million supportive housing project between Vespra and Victoria streets to its 2021 budget.
The property, which runs along Innisfil Street, is 1.49 acres in size and includes 65 Vespra St., as well as 70 and 72 Victoria St.
Coun. Keenan Aylwin, who represents this part of Barrie, says he has not given up.
“While I'm disappointed that this site isn't going to suit our needs for a quick build supportive housing project, I'm hopeful that we will be able to work with the County of Simcoe and other community stakeholders to tackle the housing crisis,” he told BarrieToday. “There are still some exciting possibilities with this site and other sites in the city.
“We desperately need more social and non-profit housing in Barrie and we need the political will to make it happen," Aylwin added.
Coun. Mike McCann has opposed this project from the beginning. He notes the original decision was made without a staff report or what he believes was due diligence, so he said he’s not surprised with this result.
“There are procedures in place. We need to follow procedures and we can’t be landing in the deep end,” he said. “You’ve got logical procedures in place that you have to follow, but because of emotion, you jump in too quickly.
“We do need to have some transitional housing for various people within our community, like the elderly. If this place is not the place, then we need to look deep and see where the place is to be in the city," McCann added.
The staff report lists several reasons why the project should not proceed.
Unsuitable soil will need to be removed within the building area and extending five metres beyond. About 4,500 metric tonnes needs to be taken away, at an estimated cost of $500,000 for dewatering, removing the existing soil and replacing it with engineered fill.
There are several other requirements that would need to be confirmed as the development proposal takes shape, as part of the normal development approval process.
They include the decommissioning of wells located on site, disposal of any excavated garbage, a site alteration permit, a fill management plan, and a discharge agreement for construction dewatering, and monitoring of groundwater and gas migration.
With the exception of updating the Phase 1 Environmental Assessment report, none of these items have been costed at this time, according to city staff, and they would be in addition to the $500,000 estimate for soil remediation.
All of these requirements would typically be addressed by the developer. If the city remains the landowner, it is deemed to be the developer, even if there is another entity constructing and managing the build and housing on the land.
The staff report offers councillors three possible options.
They could recommend that 65 Vespra and 70/72 Victoria be placed on the market to be sold as is to the highest bidder, with any net revenues from the sale be used to fund the city’s affordable housing community improvement plan. Staff say it might be possible to get a higher price for the land if it is redesignated and rezoned to residential before being offered for sale.
The second option is to transfer this property to the County of Simcoe, at no cost, and with a maximum $3-million contribution toward the soil remediation and development of the lands for supportive housing. The county is the local service manager for social housing and in the best position to either build housing there itself or determine an appropriate service provider to do so, according to staff. Given the county’s interest in developing additional affordable and supportive housing, the risk of some other form of development occurring on the site is less likely than if the land is sold to the private sector.
The third option is proceeding with neighbourhood consultation and talks with the county and various outreach organizations simultaneously to establish suitable criteria for a call for proposals for a service provider to construct and manage the building of a project on city-owned land at 65 Vespra and 70/72 Victoria.
Staff don’t recommend this alternative, as the development of the property can’t be done quickly. In order to construct supportive housing rapidly, the city needs to ensure its limited resources are focused on the delivery of a single project. In addition, should the city remain as owner of the land, it assumes all of the responsibility and associated liability of a developer.
The housing project is designed to help solve city homelessness. It would have one-person, 450 to 500 square foot, stackable housing units each cost about $195,000. The Ontario government defines supportive housing as a combination of housing assistance and supports that enable people to live as independently as possible in their community.
Council’s support for this project comes with a number of conditions.
The approximate $3-million cost, including a $500,000 estimate for soil remediation (capped at $750,000), will be funded from debt, with final amounts to be determined through request-for-proposal planning and approval of a building proposal, with the annual debt servicing costs to be paid from the reinvestment reserve and that money be leveraged access other funding opportunities.
After consultation with the county and social agencies dealing with homelessness, and before issuing the request for proposal, community and corporate services general manager Dawn McAlpine will report back to Barrie councillors on the target residents for the Vespra Street project, sources of subsidies, key project parameters and how the city’s funding can be leveraged to access other funding opportunities.
Then city staff will issue a call for proposals for a service provider to construct and manage the project, and operate the housing units.
This process is now in jeopardy, depending on what councillors decide Monday night.
.jpg;w=120;h=80;mode=crop)
