A Kingston, Ont., man has built a scale-to-size model of the downtown area with interchangeable pieces, including proposed residential buildings.
Tim Soper began construction of the model nearly three years ago and has been building it piece by piece at his kitchen table.
Over those years, developers have come forward, proposing large scale projects that would redesign the city’s skyline.
In recent months, proposals for large-scale projects have been announced, including a city-backed proposal by Homestead Land Holdings to build a 19-storey building at 51-57 Queen St., 23-storey building at 18 Queen St. and 282 Ontario St., and 12-plus-storey tower at 223 Princess St.
For his model, Soper has created each of these propsed developments out thin sheets of styrofoam, saying each layer represents a 10-foot ceiling storey.
On Wednesday, Soper showed Global News the comparison of the towers to Kingston landmarks such as city hall, St. Mary’s Cathedral, and the controversial Princess Street tower in the Hub District.
The Capitol Condo was initially slated to be 16 storeys tall but was rejected by the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal in November 2018. In late 2019, the president of the project, Daryl Firsten, submitted a new proposal downsizing the plan to 12 storeys, which included ground-floor retail space, underground parking, and greater setbacks to minimize the visual impact.
“I think it was from a position of compromise from the previous appellants, the things they were concerned about, and I think we gave them most of what they were looking for and I hope they’ll embrace this new plan,” said Firsten to Global News over the phone.
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One of those concerned appellants is Samantha King, the president of Building Kingston’s Future. She spoke with Global News last month and said her group has spent over $100,000 to fight this project.
They plan to fight Firsten’s new submission, too.
“The developer is trying to bleed us dry and bleed the community dry of its opposition but we’re not prepared to let that happen,” said King.
Kingston is known for its rich history and architecture which brings scores of tourists during the summer and fall months, but during the off season, Doug Ritchie, the managing director for Kingston’s Business Improvement Area (BIA, says those who are appealing the residential projects should reconsider as it’s damaging the downtown economy.
“Its a pretty rough first three, four months of the year,” Ritchie said.
“Lots of businesses have to borrow money to pay rent and often employees are laid off.”
Soper says he will be displaying his downtown styrofoam model Thursday night at city hall as the city holds an open house, unveiling the details of the revised Capitol Condo project. Firsten plans on attending as well.
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