Wonderful Waterloo Archive

This site is maintained by Sam Nabi as a record of the vibrant Wonderful Waterloo community, which was taken offline in 2014. This site is a partial archive, containing some posts from 2009-2013. To read more about the recovery effort and access the data in a machine-readable format, check out the GitHub page.

Proposed 300 Phillip St | 78 m | 25 fl

Post #38527 Unknown date Unknown Author	300-330 Phillip St (& 145 Columbia St W) City of Waterloo Planning Justification Report Site Plan Area "Apartment Style student residences" 538 units 1420 bedrooms (Mix of 1, 2, 3 bedroom units) 414 parking spaces 323 bicycle parking spaces
Post #38528 07-09-2012 12:22 AM Unknown Author City Member Kitchener Joined Oct 2010 954 posts	Couldn't find a thread about the Ontario Seed Company property, and I hadn't heard of this proposal until a friend of mine found it randomly while googling for the Columbia St utility reconstruction.
Post #38530 07-09-2012 01:22 AM Unknown Author Metropolis Member Waterloo, ON Joined Jan 2010 2122 posts	I like what's in the buildings, but I hate what's on the lot. Surface parking, underground parking, structured parking! Maybe one tree for every 30 parking spots. There's no setbacks for the tower height, and the Columbia Street frontage is definitely not active. Does this fall under the rule of the new Northdale zoning? Because it doesn't seem like it would pass muster under that.
Post #38545 07-10-2012 01:26 PM Unknown Author Moderator Kitchener-Waterloo Joined Dec 2009 5693 posts	NOTICE - INFORMAL PUBLIC MEETING AND COMPLETE APPLICATION City of Waterloo \| Link Council Chambers, City Hall, Waterloo City Centre 100 Regina St. S., Monday, July 23, 2012. 6:30 p.m. Official Plan Amendment No. 85 & Zoning By-law Amendment Application Z-12-05, Rise Real Estate Inc. 300-330 Phillip St. and 145 Columbia St. W., Ward 6, Central-Columbia The Applicant is proposing to amend the City’s Official Plan by adding a new Special Policy Area to permit an increase in density from 250 units/ha to 356 units/ha. The Applicant is also proposing to amend the City’s Zoning By-law No. 1108 by rezoning the subject lands from Industrial – 25 (I-25) to Multiple Residence – 25 (MR-25) with site specific provisions. This application is being advanced to permit the development of two apartment buildings (21 and 22 storeys) with ground floor commercial uses on the main floor of one building. If you wish to make a presentation to Council, please call 519.747.8549 prior to 10:00 a.m. on Monday, July 23, so that the necessary arrangements can be made to place you on the agenda. For information about the meeting, please contact Rose Clemens. In addition, a written summary of the presentation should be filed with the City Clerk prior to the public meeting. We encourage the public to provide input into this important Official Plan and Zoning By-law Amendment application. Individuals may submit written/electronic comments. The public is informed and notified that names, addresses and comments may be made public. Susan Greatix, City Clerk, City of Waterloo. For more information contact Development Services, Waterloo, 2nd floor, Waterloo City Centre, or call Trevor Hawkins at 519.747.8583 or trevor.hawkins@waterloo.ca
Post #42737 03-04-2013 07:43 AM Unknown Author Moderator Kitchener-Waterloo Joined Dec 2009 5693 posts	Official Plan Amendment No. 85 and Zone Change Application Z-12-05 for 300-330 Phillip St and 145 Columbia St W Committee of the Whole Meeting: March 04, 2013 \| Report Number: As noted in the table, the applicant is proposing 439 spaces, which is 162 less than the MR-25 zone requires. However, the proposed parking would comply with the requirements of the NMU zone, which will apply to the majority of the Northdale neighbourhood, including several abutting properties. In support of the request, the applicant has submitted a parking review, which examined how many spaces were occupied at different times of the day for two different apartment buildings, both geared to students. The applicant’s analysis indicates that a ratio of 1 parking space for every 4 beds is sufficient to meet the demand. The applicant is providing 84 parking spaces to support the commercial uses on the site. Staff is of the opinion that demand for the commercial parking spaces may be lowered due to: The proximity of those living in the apartment buildings on site; The significant amount of employees within walking distance, on Phillip St/Columbia St (e.g. Blackberry) and at the University of Waterloo; The significant amount of students either at the University of Waterloo on the opposite side of Phillip St, as well as the many students that walk past the site on their way to and from the University; The zoning by-law requires a gross amount of parking on the site; it does not dictate how the spaces are to be used. As such, there may be potential in the future for the applicant to devote some of the unused commercial spaces to tenants/owners of the residential units. The NMU zone and the Northdale OPA were specifically designed to reduce the requirement for parking and encourage alternative forms of transportation. The subject lands could not be better situated to reduce the demand for automobile use. The proximity of the University of Waterloo, Blackberry and other employers along Phillip St and the LRT station on the UW campus all will serve to reduce the need to have and use an automobile. Given that the applicant, with staff encouragement, has approached the design of their site with the Northdale policies and NMU zone as reference, staff can support the reduction in parking. ... Location Map Site Plan Renderings
Post #42738 03-04-2013 09:19 AM Unknown Author Town Member Joined Dec 2011 252 posts	1, 2 and 3 bedroom units. Finally. If Im a Blackberry employee, there is finally a rental project near by that I'd consider living in. Also, the Phillip st frontage is much better than anything we've seen so far in the area save for the Sage II project.
Post #42739 03-04-2013 10:23 AM Unknown Author Village Member Kitchener Joined Nov 2010 96 posts	Originally Posted by Lugnut 1, 2 and 3 bedroom units. Finally. If Im a Blackberry employee, there is finally a rental project near by that I'd consider living in. Also, the Phillip st frontage is much better than anything we've seen so far in the area save for the Sage II project. Completely agree! So happy this isn't student housing! Help, though - do we know who the devco is?
Post #42741 03-04-2013 11:57 AM Unknown Author Town Member Kitchener Joined Apr 2010 363 posts	The reduced parking requirement is a big deal. Substantially less than 1 spot per unit! Imagine what this development would look like if they had to fit another 25% more parking on the site. (And even so, there's a lot of land being paved here for car storage!) The site's location is close to good transit (Davis Centre, Columbia/Phillip, University/Phillip will provide 3 iXpress routes) and of course it's a toddle from the university and from major employers. At the moment, though, I wouldn't say this area is tremendously walkable. But it's getting better and more developments like this will help that aspect along. I hope Waterloo council approves.
Post #42742 03-04-2013 12:00 PM Unknown Author Metropolis Member DOWNTOWN Joined Mar 2010 2089 posts	Safe to assume that this would be built in phases? With Barrel Yards now underway, I would wonder about the potential for a glut of rental accomodation.
Post #42744 03-04-2013 12:11 PM Unknown Author Metropolis Member Waterloo, ON Joined Jan 2010 2122 posts	Originally Posted by panamaniac Safe to assume that this would be built in phases? With Barrel Yards now underway, I would wonder about the potential for a glut of rental accomodation. I would actually worry more for all the 5-bedroom units, like 1 Columbia. Because the demand for the 1, 2, and 3 bedroom units is absolutely massive. There are almost none to be found anywhere near the universities, and people travel quite far from campus to find them (or give up).
Post #42745 03-04-2013 12:18 PM Unknown Author Metropolis Member Joined Mar 2010 1083 posts	Smaller units for non-students will be a welcome addition, too. Right now most of the affordable rental stock in the region is converted houses and commie blocks, leaving high demand for the remaining gems.
Post #42746 03-04-2013 12:33 PM Unknown Author Town Member Joined Dec 2011 252 posts	Originally Posted by panamaniac Safe to assume that this would be built in phases? With Barrel Yards now underway, I would wonder about the potential for a glut of rental accomodation. I think there's a shortage in that area of non 5 bedroom units, so I wouldn't worry about a glut. This and BarrelYards are two different areas. ---------- Post Merged at 11:33 AM ---------- Originally Posted by mpd618 I would actually worry more for all the 5-bedroom units, like 1 Columbia. Because the demand for the 1, 2, and 3 bedroom units is absolutely massive. There are almost none to be found anywhere near the universities, and people travel quite far from campus to find them (or give up). I totally agree. There will be a number of students anxious to get out of current 5 bedroom units and into something like this. It's too bad the new Official Plan is taking so long to put into place otherwise we'd see more like this.
Post #42747 03-04-2013 12:59 PM Unknown Author Metropolis Member Waterloo, ON Joined Jan 2010 2122 posts	Originally Posted by Lugnut It's too bad the new Official Plan is taking so long to put into place otherwise we'd see more like this. Well, it's not in place yet, but the rules in the Northdale zoning are being applied as a carrot in this case - saying that the city supports the much lower Northdale parking requirements in exchange for a building that's in line with the new district plan. This is the lowest parking ratio in the region for new units that are not student-only.
Post #42748 03-04-2013 01:15 PM Unknown Author Town Member Joined Dec 2011 252 posts	Originally Posted by mpd618 Well, it's not in place yet, but the rules in the Northdale zoning are being applied as a carrot in this case - saying that the city supports the much lower Northdale parking requirements in exchange for a building that's in line with the new district plan. This is the lowest parking ratio in the region for new units that are not student-only. I understand that, but while that's happening, we see things like 1 Columbia, or the 5 tower monster further down Philip being approved. While Im concerned with parking requirements, Im more concerned with the 5 bedroom units, and the way density is calculated
Post #42751 03-04-2013 02:12 PM Unknown Author Metropolis Member West-South-West Kitchener Joined May 2010 1448 posts My Flickr - My Facebook	Not a fan of the surface parking, but the podium scaling and mix of bedroom sizes more than makes up for it. Should this prove a success (which I believe it will), we may well see a shift in the type of new development in the area.
Post #42752 03-04-2013 02:32 PM Unknown Author Metropolis Member Waterloo, ON Joined Jan 2010 2122 posts	Originally Posted by Lugnut I understand that, but while that's happening, we see things like 1 Columbia, or the 5 tower monster further down Philip being approved. I was under the impression that the developer of 1 Columbia, Schembri PM, was one of those appealing the Northdale zoning at the OMB. I.e. companies that want to develop student tower monsters are fighting against the city's efforts to curb them.
Post #42755 03-04-2013 03:18 PM Unknown Author Urban Issues Moderator Joined Jul 2010 1641 posts	Originally Posted by mpd618 Because the demand for the 1, 2, and 3 bedroom units is absolutely massive. There are almost none to be found anywhere near the universities, and people travel quite far from campus to find them (or give up). From recent experience, there is an extremely limited supply of 1 bedroom apartments in the area.
Post #42814 03-07-2013 02:36 PM Unknown Author Town Member Joined Feb 2012 106 posts	Those seem like very tall buildings for the area... things are going to look very different.
Post #42836 03-08-2013 11:09 AM Unknown Author Town Member Toronto Joined Apr 2010 311 posts	The podium is horrible and I'm shocked that an architect or intern-architect was responsible for it. Even if this was a first draft, those mouldings all over the place, for one, are inexcusable. Blech. Why can't Waterloo have good residential architecture? We have some great buildings in our core, but everything else they just don't even TRY on.
Post #42837 03-08-2013 11:19 AM Unknown Author Town Member Kitchener Joined Apr 2010 363 posts	I'm not minding the podiums, to be honest. Is it form or function that irks you?