It’s not often that housing developments receive support from neighbourhood residents, but the proposed development in Kingston’s east end has just that.
A new project, being put in front of the city’s planning committee, is looking to build 31 new homes in Barriefield, a historic neighbourhood that dates back to the early 19th century.
The proposed new subdivision would be located at 411 Wellington Street, which is the former site of the J.E. Horton Public School, which was demolished in 2016.
A local citizens group, the Barriefield Village Association (BVA), has thrown their support behind the proposal, saying the development respects the heritage of the area.
“It is faithful to the Heritage Conservation District Plan, indeed is more robust than the plan itself in its insistence on built form that is sympathetic to the existing heritage assets of the village,” says Christine Sypnowich, President of the Barriefield Village Association.
“The proposal also includes an open green space, or common, and great care has been taken to ensure the development would retain key views to St. Mark’s Church.”
Sypnowich says this isn’t the first time a developer has tried to build on the old public school property. In fact, she says this is the third time a development has been proposed, and for the BVA, it seems like the third time is the charm.
“The first purchaser was Jay Patry, who was talking about high-rises,” says Sypnowich. “Then it was bought by a corporation who wanted to build a retirement residence. Now, with this third purchase, it’s been a night and day difference.”
The developers who are planning to build this time are City Flats and Arcadis, and the property is about 2.5 hectares in size and has approximately 150 metres of frontage along Wellington Street.
The City of Kingston’s Planning Committee will be receiving the report in Wednesday night’s meeting to amend zoning bylaws, and staff are recommending it to be approved.
If approved, the amended bylaws would go before city council for all three readings.