The big-ticket item on council’s agenda Tuesday night was the decision surrounding a settlement for a 15-storey highrise apartment building at Queen and Barrie streets.
Council was fairly split on the issue, but councillors who are in favour of the development shared why the project could help the city.
“First off, Kingston needs housing of all kinds,” Coun. Wendy Stephen said in Tuesday’s meeting.
“Yes, we absolutely need affordable housing, but we also need market rentals just like these. It’s not one or the other, it’s both.”
Council ended up approving the motion, with three councillors opposed.
Members of the Friends of Queen Street Kingston expected the vote to go this way, but they are still discouraged by the result.
“We’re highly disappointed,” says Lea Westlake, the group’s president.
“Friends of Queen Street is not against intensifying Queen Street; we’d like to see reasonable intensification. We strongly believe that this proposal is not that.”
The representative from Podium Development declined to do an interview.
But one renter in the neighbourhood is in favour of the development, and is in favour of the city building more social housing.
He also believes this project could help ease the low vacancy rate in Kingston.
“Every time there’s a proposal for something that’s going to increase supply, the wealthiest 20-25 per cent of the people within a few blocks will show up and say it’ll ruin the character of our neighbourhoods,” says Oren Nimelman, a tenant in the neighbourhood.
“All due respect, there’s no housing crisis for them.”
All that’s left now is for the Ontario Land Tribunal to sign off on the compromise.