THUNDER BAY – A proposed six-storey condo building in a historic neighbourhood of the city’s north side has tentative support from council despite objections from many area residents.
Thunder Bay city council on Monday night approved a zoning bylaw amendment to allow developers to take the next steps towards a 17-unit building at Nugent and McVicar streets.
The property had been originally owned by Robert McVicar, who was the first person to establish a homestead in the area in 1859, before a house was built at the turn of the 20th century. That century-old home, which had significantly deteriorated, had been vacant for more than a year before being demolished last year.
Developer Ryan Jones said the project would provide a chance to utilize an overlooked piece of property, conveniently situated adjacent to greenspace and recreation trails.
“This condo would positively add to the scale and character already prevalent along the McVicar Creek ravine and offer additional housing opportunities close to the downtown Port Arthur district,” Jones said.
“This development would generate a significant increase in the tax base within the downtown core, which in turn will encourage more investment and opportunity to develop infill lots.”
Area residents raised concerns about parking availability in the neighbourhood, where they said there is already a shortage of on-street spaces. The proposal includes a total of 21 parking spaces for the building, which includes 14 built underground.
“The existing condition that’s ongoing in the area, I don’t think it should be the burden of this project to try to solve that,” project architect Cory Stechyshyn said.
Coun. Aldo Ruberto empathized with the objectors but said infill has been identified as a city priority.
“I do not want parking to stop projects,” Ruberto said. “Parking has stopped and killed so many developments in our core area. It’s unbelievable. It’s also ridiculous because it does not work in every other city.”
Randy Winkworth, who lives a short distance up the hill on Ray Court from the proposed development, expressed concern about traffic congestion in the area.
“We already have two apartment blocks within 100 metres, we have a proposal for the old provincial courthouse to be a hotel, we have a new condominium going up above the Safeway store on Court Street on Ryerson,” Winkworth said.
“It just appears, to me, that Court Street – two lanes with limited parking on either side – how is it going to accommodate? How are people going to exit that building and which way are they going to go?”
Other residents expressed concern about the impact of the building’s construction on stormwater management along McVicar Creek. The Lakehead Region Conservation Authority has not objected to the proposed amendment and would be required to issue a permit before any construction would take place.
City planner Grant Mason acknowledged the concerns raised by some of the area residents but said the project represents a desirable form of medium to high density housing that would support both the city’s public transit as well as active transportation networks.
“There are no perfect solutions in planning. Unfortunately we can’t check all the boxes and have something work out perfectly,” Mason said.
“As planners we look at the whole city. We look at the neighbourhoods, we look at the communities but we do take a large scale look at the impacts.
Coun. Trevor Giertuga was the lone vote against the zoning bylaw amendment.
“It’s a beautiful looking building. I just think it’s in the wrong spot for that large of a building,” Giertuga said.
