Shane Baghai, the developer of 3 – 5 Southvale, first submitted his proposal over one year ago for the sites immediately adjacent to Leaside Memorial Gardens. A community consultation was held by our Planning department and then . . . silence. Although this is often the case, the period of silence must have seemed unusually long. However, there were some unusual issues.
One issue related to the developer bringing a court application seeking relief involving a portion of City lands adjacent to 3 Southvale Drive. The developer was claiming a legal ownership interest on the basis of adverse possession (based on the previous owner’s use).
Although this was settled largely in favour of the City, there were still more issues to resolve: the possible driveway entrance through the arena parking lot, a building height of eight storeys and a podium of three storeys (which would be higher than the house forms to the west of the site) and density – just to highlight a few.
Although it seemed quiet, intense discussions have been taking place. While some issues still need to be ironed out, Mr. Baghai has recently resubmitted his application with major alterations to the proposal.
The building height has been reduced to seven storeys which is consistent with the development across the street (2 Laird) and meets all angular plane requirements. The number of units has been reduced from 98 to 67, the “Gross Floor Area” has been reduced by over 30%, and the driveway entrance has been moved to Southvale. Mr. Baghai has also agreed to increase the setback of his building in order to provide a landscaped promenade leading down to the arena.
As promised, I will be holding my own community meeting at the Leaside Memorial Gardens on Thursday, September 8 at 7:00 pm. I encourage anyone with concerns to mark this on your calendar as the developer’s team will be attending to answer any questions you might have.