Massive housing project officially approved for ‘iconic’ location in Kitchener

There are big plans for a well-known property on Courtland Avenue in Kitchener.

It has been eight years since the closing of the Schneiders meat plant and now a family-owned development firm, Auburn Developments, is one step closer to breaking ground on the site, after City of Kitchener council approved their revised plans at Monday’s meeting.

At last Monday’s Planning and Strategic Initiatives committee meeting, the councillors approved the initial $1 billion scheme that would have made 3,345 housing units, 135 of those being affordable homes.

However, despite council’s resounding approval, Ward 1 Councillor Scott Davey challenged Auburn Developments to see if they can make the site even denser. That led to significant revisions. including 45 additional storeys across the 13 residential towers, creating 640 more dwellings and 10 more affordable homes. They will be rented at 80 per cent of market rate for a period of 25 years.

They are still looking to build eight high-rise residential towers (between 16 and 38 storeys), five medium-rise towers (five to eight storeys), a stacked townhouse block and a restaurant building, but four of the towers will get taller.

Auburn also has plans to accelerate the construction of the affordable homes, with 53 as the goal to be done by the end of the year.

“The reality is [Auburn Developments] didn’t have to offer half of the things they are offering here,” said Davey. “Everyone knows the lay of the land when it comes to development these days. It’s very much somebody who is interested in the community and building quality homes and products that comes with such an important development, such an important location. When the building was torn down, I remember the community saying ‘please don’t get this wrong’ and I think we knocked it out of the park.”

The Schneiders site resides in Ward 9, and Debbie Chapman is thrilled with the plan and its revisions.

“I must say, this is a great kind of little city within a city,” said Chapman. “It’s an urban development that is like none other in the City of Kitchener right now. I am very pleased with the number of units that are proposed for this site.

A rendering of the proposed development for the Schneiders site.

The plan includes two parks, a multi-use trail and 3,876 parking spaces. 20 per cent of those spaces will also be designated for electric vehicles. The site is also in close proximity to two ION LRT stations.

Auburn Developments aims to begin construction this summer. The project is just waiting on a building permit.

President Jamie Crich also upped his pledge to the Working Centre’s Making Home housing project for unsheltered people proposed at 97 Victoria Street North from $850,000 to $1 million. That project was also the recipient of $9.8 million in funding from the third round of the Rapid Housing Initiative’s (RHI) City Stream. It will create 44 new affordable homes in the region.

Auburn Developments have owned the 10-hectare industrial site since 2017.