Proposed PRK building on south side of Princess Street

The Ontario Municipal Board (OMB) has dismissed public appeals against two 11 storey condominiums on opposite sides of Princess Street near University Avenue.

PRK Developments says its $100 million residential project, described as “gateway” landmarks to the downtown, will offer a total of about 400 units.

The OMB says the high-rise project is in accordance with the Official Plan and Williamsville Main Street study that supports intensification along the midtown’s Princess Street corridor.

“These landmark signature buildings are situated at a gateway location where taller buildings are appropriate and can demonstrate a positive contribution to the community as a whole,” said the long-awaited ruling by OMB adjudicator Mary-Anne Sills.

The OMB notified the city of its decision late last year, more than a year after community appeals were filed against council’s decision to support the developer’s Official Plan and zoning bylaw amendments.

The first building is a consolidation of seven properties to be located at 495 Princess Street; an 11-storey, 195-unit condo with ground-floor commercial space. The second building, located on the south side of Princess Street, consolidates four properties to be known as 333 University Avenue; an 11 storey, 204-unit condo with ground-floor commercial uses.

Proposed 11 storey condo on north side of Princess Street at University

In both buildings, the 11th floor will be used solely for amenity and mechanical space.

Initially proposed as two, 10-storey condominiums, the final design reflects the 11th floor for amenity space featuring an outdoor terrace, fitness and study rooms. Some of the bachelor, one, two and three bedroom units will either be owner-occupied or rented to university students, young families and professionals.

The project, first unveiled in 2014, sparked appeals from citizens and other developers.

Some of the objections were related to the size and shadowing impact of the buildings, close proximity to low-rise houses, lack of a second public meeting following building design changes, overall shortage of available parking spaces in the development, and the proposal to locate dozens of tenant parking spaces to off-site lots.

Parking was a key point in dispute.

The current proposal is to provide a total 210 parking spaces, 200 of which are dedicated to the residential uses and 10 allocated for commercial uses. Of the 200 spaces, 59 are planned to be located off site as far as 500 metres away.

However, the OMB ruled the parking concerns were “negligible.”

“The proposed buildings are expected to be mostly occupied by students and young professionals whose primary employment or daytime activity is nearby,” said the ruling.

It also found that “off-site parking does not pose any threat of impact to the surrounding area that cannot otherwise be mitigated.”

The OMB said it’s the developer who could lose out on tenants if they don’t want to walk half a kilometre to their vehicles.

“It is likely that potential tenants and patrons finding the lack of available on-site parking or the distance to the off-site lots untenable, it is the developer that will be in peril.”

City planners testified in favour of the project at the OMB hearing which took place over six days in November 2016, including their support of the building design, parking ratio of just 0.5 spaces for each residential unit and the remote off-site location for some of the parking spaces.

City officials said the reduced parking requirement should not pose any problems since both buildings are on the main public transit corridor, which includes express bus service, and the developer has agreed to install bus shelters on private land in front of both buildings.

PRK’s ‘gateway’ buildings to the downtown

PRK Developments says its project is designed to benefit Queen’s University students and city residents and slow the conversion of single-family homes into rooming houses. “Its principal benefit is to alleviate the housing pressure in the area, which is a source of tension in the community,” according to a 2014 urban design study.

It’s unknown when construction will begin now that the project has been endorsed by the provincial planning tribunal.