Residential development being considered for Inn of Waterloo site

Big changes could be coming to the Inn Of Waterloo site on King Street.

Monday's city council meeting saw a presentation by Drewlo Holdings Inc. – a business that develops, constructs and manages apartments – that proposed bringing eight high rises and two office towers to north Waterloo.

Mayor Dorothy McCabe knows that housing is a top-of-mind issue.

“We need housing of every make, model and type for people of every make, model and type,” said McCabe. “We have a tremendous amount of growth in this community and we need to look to available land to build what we can and what makes sense and where it makes sense. We want to build a community that is vibrant, and where you have the ability walk, cycle or roll around very easily.”

McCabe added that the Inn is a gateway into Waterloo, making it crucial that whatever resides at that location on King Street looks good and reflects the type of city that both council and the residents of Waterloo are looking for.

“It offers some exciting possibilities for sure, but it will be weird to not have [the Inn of Waterloo] there depending how these developments roll out, but it will be weird to go by that area and see the type of change that could happen,” said McCabe. 

The project is still in the early stages, with the purpose of the conversation at Monday's council meeting being to hear the initial comments about the planning application. McCabe said the public is now encouraged to to send their thoughts about the plans either via e-mail, letter or in front of council. 

***Editor's Note: A previous version of this story included a headline that misrepresented the story. We have since changed the headline to provide more clarity.