Kitchener council approves rezoning for 44-storey mixed-use development

Ontario Construction News staff writer

Kitchener city council last week approved a revised zoning by-law amendment to allow for a 44-storey mixed-use development downtown across from Grand River Hospital with 231 units and 108 parking spaces.

Edmonton-based developer Cantiro King General Partner Ltd. is also proposing a partnership with the hospital foundation to provide hotel rooms for families of people who are in hospital on a long-term basis.

The tower will include 532 rental residential units and five ground-floor commercial units with a three-floor podium designed for retail and office space.

The midtown location between Kitchener and Waterloo and across from the hospital, along with its ideal placement on the LRT makes it “a great fit” says Stewart Fraser, vice-president of Cantiro Group. The company purchased the land in 2019.

The property at 890-900 King St. W. originally housed a three-storey medical building and parking lot and before that it was a gas station as well as an automotive repair shop until 1993.

Contaminants found at the site include petroleum hydrocarbon. The owner qualifies for financial assistance from the Region of Waterloo’s brownfield cleanup program, a city report says.

As part of the agreement approved by council Mar. 21, Cantiro King General Partner Ltd. will incorporate LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) inspired building design features and will provide 20 electric vehicle parking spaces, in addition to 19 per cent barrier-free accessible units.

The developer will also support an upgrade to Francis Green Park and provide an $875,000 donation to St. Peter’s Lutheran Church to increase affordable housing in the downtown area. Located in Kitchener’s ‘innovation district’, new development will support increased growth and provide additional housing opportunities in downtown Kitchener.

“Significant community benefits are proposed for the development in exchange for an increase in building size,” a staff report states.

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