The massive housing plan for the old Schneiders meat plant in Kitchener took a step closer to shovels entering the ground when it received unanimous approval from the city’s planning and strategic initiatives committee.
The plant was closed by Maple Leaf Foods in 2015, with the company moving production to Hamilton.
Auburn Developments, a London-based company, is planning to build 13 towers, ranging in size from five to 38 storeys, on the massive site which is over 10 hectares in size.
The new development will see 3,345 rental units built over the next 12 years with the company telling council it was hoping to get shovels into the ground this summer.
Developer Jamie Crich was asked by council whether the company could speed up the process.
“We like to under-promise and overdeliver,” he responded. “This program is basically moving along with one building a year, but it does have potential to increase to two buildings at some points.”
Over the past few years, many of the buildings have been torn down but three buildings remain, providing a small memory of what was once a primary employer in the area.
Those three buildings remain a part of the Auburn Developments plan, and they will be used for commercial and employment uses.
The company first submitted an application to build on the lands but that has slowly been reshaped over the past four years.
There are now an additional 500 units proposed for the site, including 135 that will remain affordable housing for 25 years.
There is also more parking, for bicycles and cars, as well as an increase in the size of a city-owned park which grows to .71 hectares from .47 hectares.
Several councillors also questioned staff and the developer as to whether there could be an increase in density on the site so the buildings may also grow at some point down the road.