Opinion: Round 1 in books for The Woolverton

A major downtown development was the subject of an initial public meeting for Official Plan and zoning bylaw amendments Monday night.
The proposal – at the corner of Elm and Mountain – is for a seven-storey apartment building with some townhouses on the east side with 74-units in total, all rentals.
There are several positives to the design set out: environmentally friendly, serving a crucial need in the rental market, 5,000 sq ft of community space, service as a community hub location and minimized impact of surrounding properties – so says the development’s lead consultant.
On the residents’ concerns end, the usual suspect: parking, traffic, height, compatibility with the surrounding area. All valid and need precious attention.
One aspect making this different from, say, Century Condos is it is not on Main Street (so it is subject to different planning principles) and is designed on a north/south axis as opposed to east/west, which greatly reduces escarpment view impacts.
Council can approve up to six storeys under existing planning bylaws. It will be interesting to see if the seven option gets through. From a downtown perspective – parking, parking parking. M.W.