By Pepper Parr
September 3, 2017
BURLINGTON, ON
Construction cranes in the downtown core – a welcome sign of growth to some, and intensification that isn’t welcome to others.
The provincial government has said we are going to grow and that the population of Burlington is going to rise – those are facts that we have to live with.
While construction crews put rebar in place and pour concrete the citizens gather in meetings across the city to give their views on the Grow BOLD initiative the city has undertaken to create four mobility hubs in the city around which the growth is to be contained.
There is a public that is concerned about what is going to happen to their community and a Mayor who does his best to soothe the concerns and explain that intensification will only impact 5% of the city.
In the meantime the Bridgewater project rises out of the ground – a 22 story condominium; an 8 story hotel and a seven storey condominium tucked in behind the hotel – and the Berkeley on John Street become visible as it rises to the 28 storey height that was permitted.
That John Street construction site is to include a public garage and a medical centre – they will follow the construction of the condominium.
Medica One or the Carriage Gate project – pick the name you like best – will go up at the top of John Street and consist of a medical offices building, an above ground garage and an apartment/condo complex. It will bring significant change to the intersection and drive redevelopment of the plaza to the immediate north, A transit hub a couple of blocks to the south then makes a lot of sense. This rendering is from the Caroline – Elizabeth Street intersection.
The city expected all three projects to rise at the same time – and were worried enough about the construction actually taking place that they had the developer commit to coughing up $300,000 if the project doesn’t proceed by March of 2020.
City hall does appear to fully appreciate the market forces the developer has to contend with.
The utility poles will disappear – all the cable will be underground. Getting that decision in place was no simple matter.
Maria Street, currently closed to the public, will be the entrance to the Berkley condominium.
Carriage Gate, the developer, has had their share of grief with both the city and Burlington Hydro over the existence of utility poles on John Street. A hydro line had to be pulled in from Lakeshore Road to the site – an expensive job. There was much discussion over whether or not all the hydro wires would be underground.
The developer was prepared to pay for the cost of burying the cable in front of their project but wasn’t prepared to pay for the cost of burying the cable for every foot of the distance from Lakeshore Road.
And they didn’t like the price for doing the work that Burlington Hydro had put on the table.
It’s getting resolved – with the developer trying hard to keep the lawyers out of the room.
When completed John Street will take on a much different look. Other developers have already begun to acquire and assemble property on the street.
As construction continues the planners are looking for ways to improve the look of the rest of the street and bring more activity to the area.
There are parts of John Street that are really the back alley of some of the properties on Brant Street – the top end of John Street isn’t even a street – it is designated a lane-way that leads to a supermarket.
Watching the very tragic events in Houston over the past few weeks it is interesting listening to the comments of city officials, legislators and residents. While hindsight is always 20/20 two important learnings have emerged.
First, for years Houston City Hall has let developers run amok. Development has occurred near the banks of tributaries and streams. The downtown area has been overbuilt with high rises, office towers, roads and expressways. The absorption rate on the ground is less than 10%, whereas it should be closer to 55%. That is why the city won’t dry out for another 6 to 8 weeks. Cost to rebuild is estimated at over $100 billion U.S.
Second, because the electrical system has been buried significant parts of Houston have lost power because the generators are underwater. Not only are residents in townhouses and residential houses displaced but so are people downtown. If you have no elevator, and you have no hydro, you don’t have much quality of life.
I’m sure our Mayor, Council and City Hall officials have all but forgotten the flooding on August 4, 2014, but unfortunately, it is indelibly etched in the memories of many Burlington residents. So, before we all jump on the Grow Bold and Mobility Hubs bandwagons perhaps it is best to pause and reflect on these natural disasters and ask those in power three questions: 1) how will all this development impact flood relief in the City? 2) what will be the impact upon the absorption rate if we have a storm of hurricane magnitude or equivalent? and 3) is our urban infrastructure system (i.e. storm sewers; drainage; water filtration plants) equipped to handle all this additional development?
If the Planners and developers can’t provide the answers then maybe it’s time residents sent them back to the drawing board, or, better still, make development approvals contingent upon providing substantive, detailed and comprehensive answers.
Nice comment William.
I’m continually flabbergasted at how the city planning tells us a bunch of promises – disguised as a real part of the big money part of the development proposal – to justify developments, and then, somehow, they let these promises vanish but the big gainful parts still proceed.
What is going on here? It looks like corruption to me that these things just seem to slip into reality as the city fumbles the ball.
They can’t be this stupid. They just think we are.
This kind of thing is really gutting any little trust I have in the city, and whoever is behind this kind of thing.
No tears will be shed for this developer; paying for the hydro lines is a pittance compared with the financial windfall the city has granted him.
Back in 2010, the planning department & council supported the developer’s request to re-zone the block from 4 storeys to permit a 17 storey structure. They approved 3 structures that will be built from sidewalk to sidewalk, with no green space or public amenities – an ugly concrete eyesore.
We were told the development should be approved because of three things: affordable units; a medical centre and increased parking. Problem was the city failed to get signed community benefits upfront – so the developer wriggled out of his commitments for more affordable units, dropping their number from 73% to 27%. The city handed over the public parking lot to the developer to build a privately run parking garage. That parking lot has not been available for the last 5+ years.
When the city removed the zoning hold, they lost their leverage to ensure the medical building and parking garage will be built. The developer is going ahead with the 17 storey highrise while making no clear commitments to build the centre or the parking. No one should be surprised if the developer’s next move is to seek approval to convert the medical centre into another high-rise condo.
Grow Bold is the latest planners vision that only provides cover for gains accruing to the developer at the expense of the community.