After sitting vacant for years following city council’s approval of new zoning for the site, development of an east end property is expected to begin soon.
Fencing went up around 78 Starwood Dr., on the southwest corner of the intersection with Watson Parkway, late last month and a planning consultant hired by the owner said his client is hopeful building preparations can begin in a matter of weeks, pending approval of the site plan by city staff.
“As soon as possible,” Chris Pidgeon of GPS Group said of when construction will get underway.
When zoning and official plan amendments were approved in 2014, the development included 405 condominium apartments in five buildings – four to be four storeys tall and one, intended to be geared toward senior living, was to be five storeys. Each of the shorter buildings was to include commercial space collectively totalling 930 square metres.
A proposed site plan was submitted “a couple months ago,” said Pidgeon, which would see the four-storey buildings brought down to two levels and no longer with commercial space on the ground floor.
The plan also calls for shared amenity space on the roof of the five-storey structure, the consultant added, noting the building would offer commercial opportunities at ground level.
That proposal will be reviewed against established zoning and official plan requirements, said Chris DeVriendt, the city’s manager of development planning in an email.
“In the event that variances to the zoning are required to implement the site plan proposal, the owner would need to submit a minor variance application,” he said. “This would need to be approved by the Committee of Adjustment, and this is a public process.”
At the time of council’s 2014 zoning and official plan approvals, the property was owned by Coletara Development of Mississauga. It has since changed hands and now belongs to London, Ontario’s Auburn Developments.
