London’s planning and environment committee approved a rezoning application for an affordable housing apartment building in the Old East Village Tuesday.
Councillors signed off on the five-storey, 41-unit building that will take up a stretch of land from 1039 to 1047 Dundas St. that has been vacant since 2008.
Coun. Jesse Helmer tells 980 CFPL the community and council know how important affordable housing developments are.
“I supported the recommendation, there was a lot of feedback in the community about the initial design, and the applicant responded and made it better in my mind,” said Helmer.
“The people in the community were very supportive, they recognize the need for affordable housing, they want a great design for the new building and have really high expectations.”
Some residents brought forward concerns with the plans, including how small businesses might be impacted.
There were also concerns over parking, with 22 spaces at the building, coupled with 32 indoor spots for bicycles.
“The applicant runs a number of other buildings where they have lower than normal parking available and it works perfectly fine. There is so much transit in the area so it won’t be as reliant on cars.”
He adds that BRT would help alleviate parking concerns.
Helmer says bringing more people into the Old East Village will also lead to more spending at local businesses.