13 high-rise towers proposed at Northfield Drive, Weber Street in Waterloo
Posted Jun 4, 2024 07:37:47 AM.
Last Updated Jun 4, 2024 10:23:57 AM.
Waterloo City Council held an informal public meeting on Monday to hear an application for a massive tower development.
The proposed development would be from 170-200 Northfield Drive West and 570-655 Weber Street North and would consist of 13 high-rise towers, ranging from 25 to 40 storeys, capable of housing 4,257 apartment units.
The site would be over 21,000 square metres, with a combination of one, two and three-bedroom units as well as over 5,000 vehicle parking spots and 2,700 bicycle parking spots.
No decisions were made at the meeting — rather, the informal session was a time for councillors to hear the application and ask any questions of the city planner, the developer and hear any concerns from delegates.
Trevor Hawkins, who presented to council on behalf of multiple developers, including Forgestone Capital Management, said the phases for the development could take decades to complete.
“It’s not a project where council will see all these towers built three to four years from now,” he said. “So I think that’s an important consideration when we think of some of the technical aspects, with some manners regarding traffic but also the revolution of the site.”
The city put calls out for public feedback on the plan, with Ward 3 councillor Hans Roach confirming to CityNews 570 that 29 of the 32 respondents were either opposed or had mixed feelings about the development. Only three of the respondents said they were in favour.
One delegation at Monday’s meeting, Ashwin, said he is in favour of the development, citing the region’s growing population as a reason to have more developments.
“We are very fortunate to have such high growth, but with [high growth] there are big challenges when it comes to housing,” said Ashwin. “So, projects like these, where we can add 4,000 more homes is the need of the hour, and [I] would like to see more proposals like these put forward to council as well.”
The next steps will be for staff to review the studies for the development report back to council for recommendations.
