A 40-unit row-house development in the Minnow Lake neighbourhood was greenlit on Monday by the planning committee of city council’s unanimous support.
Owner Barry Kindrat told Sudbury.com he’d get rolling on the development as quickly as possible, estimating it will take about a year to service the property and two years to build.
“It’s really designed for active seniors,” he said, describing target residents as having “a nice pension,” who have sold their house and like to travel and “have a really nice place to live.”
Kindrat said a similar eight-unit development in Chelmsford was rented out quickly, and expects a similar response to the Minnow Lake project. The units will be made of brick, have two bathrooms per unit, a garage for each unit and be “designed for seniors.”
At current market rates, he estimates the units will be rented for $2,500 apiece, but the final going rate would depend on where the market ends up when the units open in three years.
The 40 rental units were cleared to be built on 4.4 acres of land at 1876,1882, and 1890 Bancroft Drive.
The properties are located west of First Avenue along a narrow property stretching north. They only use 13.8 metres of frontage on the north side of Bancroft Drive, which allows space for a new entrance road to be constructed and lined by the development’s 40 row-house units. It dead-ends to the north with a turnaround area for emergency services, parking and snow.
City staff recommended the committee approve the development, which planner Eric Taylor noted in his report “is consistent with the Provincial Policy Statement, conforms to the Growth Plan for Northern Ontario, the Official Plan for the City of Greater Sudbury, has regard for matters of provincial interest and represents good planning.”
The development is slated to include two parking spaces per unit, with one parking space in an attached garage and driveways wide enough to park a second vehicle. Three common parking areas consisting of a total of 12 spots will also be constructed at the south and north ends of the property.
The City of Greater Sudbury owns land to the proposed development’s immediate east, after having purchased it from the Sudbury Catholic School Board last year. The city-owned property, which consists of 5.21 acres of land, with 67 feet of frontage on Bancroft Drive and 498 feet of frontage on First Avenue, is earmarked for use as affordable housing, but there are no immediate plans for it.
Kindrat’s proposal faced some opposition from area residents.
In her correspondence to the city, area resident Dot Klein expressed concern regarding the development’s impacts on water quality and argued the property would be better suited for affordable housing.
She also expressed concern about potential flood issues, since a creek runs directly behind Holy Redeemer Church, adding that her main goal in speaking on Monday was to put these concerns in the public record in the event flooding were to occur.
Meeting chair and Ward 10 Coun. Fern Cormier noted that Conservation Sudbury has already affirmed that Section 28 of the Conservation Authorities Act will be required for the realignment of the property’s water course, which he said should address Klein’s concerns.
In a letter to the city, area resident Yvonne Marrello argued the proposal’s housing density was too great, and would result in congestion along its “small access road.”
Marrello also said the developer intends “to clear cut a neighbourhood in order to build 40 units when there are many buildings that are just lying vacant.”
With the housing development greenlit, the city anticipates receiving approximately $165,000 in annual tax revenue, based on the assumption of 40 row-dwelling units with an average assessed value of $275,000 at 2023 property tax rates.
The planning committee’s decision still needs to be ratified by city council as a whole on April 30, but the unanimous support it received on Monday makes it likely to pass.
A similar development was OK’d during the planning commitee’s previous meeting, on April 15, when they unanimously (minus Ward 11 Coun. Bill Leduc, who left the meeting early so did not vote) approved a 22-unit residential development consisting of semi-detached dwelling units at the end of Corsi Hill. This decision was ratified by city council as a whole the following evening.
Tyler Clarke covers city hall and political affairs for Sudbury.com.