A plan of condominium for an Elmira site has nothing to do with the buildings, but it will allow for Woolwich Community Services and MennoHomes to share their new home on Memorial Avenue.
Construction is already underway on the 7,500-square-foot facility that will bring WCS’ services under one roof. MennoHomes is looking to build a three-storey, 24-unit apartment building on the property, perhaps starting next spring. The condominium designation would apply to shared elements on some 7,900 sq. ft. of vacant land on the 1.2-acre property, including the driveway and utility services.
The Region of Waterloo is the approval authority for condominiums, so Woolwich Township will be simply providing input after hosting a public meeting October 7 in council chambers to discuss the plan, explained manager of planning John Scarfone
The application for a plan of condominium does not propose further subdivide the individual apartments within the future MennoHomes building, he added.
While no one raised any concerns about the plan itself, the owner of a nearby business is seeking assurances the development itself won’t have an impact on his parking spaces.
Ray Bauman of the Foot Foundation said his Church Street location’s private parking reserved for customers is routinely filled by others looking for spots downtown. With the new WCS building just across the road, he said he fears others will find the parking spots too convenient to pass up.
“The spaces are all signed (private parking) … but people still ignore that.”
He also expressed concerns about traffic once the site is fully developed.
“It’s an atrocious corner for traffic already – a terrible corner to get around,” said Bauman of the intersection of Memorial Avenue and Church Street.
Scarfone said the site provides for more than enough parking to handle both the planned apartment building’s tenants and visitors to WCS.
“They’re providing more than sufficient parking for that development,” he said, noting the plan goes well beyond what would be necessary in the core area, where parking requirements are half of what would be needed for a building elsewhere given that there are existing downtown parking spaces.
MennoHomes executive director Dan Driedger said the plan for the site provides enough parking for all users.
Construction on the apartment building could begin as early as next spring, depending on fundraising efforts, he added.
The building will be a mix of one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments, appealing to a wide variety of tenants. In keeping with the organization’s mandate, the goal will be to offer affordable housing.
Driedger said the idea is to take people from the Region of Waterloo’s waiting list for affordable housing, which now stands at 3,200. Rents are typically geared at 65 to 80 per cent of the average market rate.
Before that project gets going, WCS will have moved into its new digs. The agency has been operating from cramped quarters on Arthur Street in Elmira since 1984. With the sale of the former township hall, including the land where its current building sits, the search for a new site ended up at the corner of Church Street and Memorial Avenue, a long-vacant property once home to Procast Foundries.
The new building will be much more spacious than the 900 square feet (plus small basement) at 73 Athur St. S. At 7,500-sq.ft., the new facility will incorporate a larger reception area, private offices, a larger food bank area, a community room, public workspace, and WCS’ thrift shop.
