Major residential development in Kitchener to honour historic past
Posted Apr 2, 2024 04:52:29 AM.
Last Updated Apr 2, 2024 04:52:33 AM.
A major new high rise development coming to Kitchener is being asked to pay tribute to the history of its Victoria Street location.
The city’s Heritage Committee will discuss on Tuesday afternoon a three tower project to go up at 236 and 264 Victoria Street North, between Margaret and St. Leger Streets.
The current buildings at the two addresses are a three-storey office building, the L.A. Fitness building, and the parking lot in between.
The land, however, has a historic value as part of the Warehouse District Cultural Heritage Landscape, specifically, “a historical association to Greb Industries and Bauer Hockey, being that the lands were the original site of this significant company.”
The new development would be made up of three towers: 40, 35, and 18 storeys tall, with 1,076 residential units, and more that 1,100 square metres of commercial space.
A report to the Heritage Committee said the development and lands only meet one of nine standard criteria for heritage concerns, namely: “The lands have associative value with Western Boot and Shoe Company, Greb Industries, and Bauer Hockey.”
The report said “It is recommended that a commemorative element be included in the proposed development to acknowledge the history of Greb Industries and Bauer Hockey.”
The Heritage Kitchener Committee meets at 4:00 p.m. Tuesday afternoon.
