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1186-1194 Wellington St West | 60m | 16s | Welldale Limited Partnership (Minto) | Dialog

J.OT13

J.OT13

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Previous Discussion
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This one was recommended for approval by City staff, but shockingly rejected by Planning and Council. Since went to the OLT a year ago. Not sure what's the hold-up.
 
originalmuffins said:
This is so bizarre. There should be no reason to reject this. Just let them build the damn thing.
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Yeah, this whole debate has been very strange. We approve just about anything anywhere. Minto re-worked the project twice to try and mitigate concerns. It's a little taller than other projects in the area, but the massing is well done compared to the retirement home super-block across the street.

Did Minto stop funding political campaigns at some point?
 
Here's the evolution of the project. Thanks to rocketphish on SPP for posting these over there in the first place.

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There are hundreds of think pieces currently on social media why Ontario isn't building housing fast enough, and then a perfectly good and proportional project like this is just hanging in the balance for years. Make it make sense.
 
When you build, tens of thousands of dollars are just fees and taxes, which makes new units not competitive with already built units that were built when construction prices were lower. You heavily tax things you want to discourage (e.g. cigarettes), and new builds in Ottawa are taxed like they are cigarettes.
 
From Jeff Leiper’s newsletter today:

Minto wins appeal on Parkdale/Wellington tower
For the length of time it took to issue, there's surprisingly little meat on the bones of the decision in Minto's favour by the Ontario Land Tribunal for its proposed 16-storey development at the corner of Parkdale/Wellington. That's not yet online, so I've posted the decision temporarily here. I will say that I'm disappointed, though not necessarily surprised given the direction the Tribunal has been taking. I'll connect with Minto in the coming weeks to see what their timeline is for development of the site and pass that on when I know.
 
It is still my opinion that the councilor fought this primarily because it has a personal impact on him.

There was never a world in which this location was not getting approved for that height and density and I feel like Minto could read between the lines and see it wasn't a planning problem hence why they just went OLT. It is always a hard argument to say that this location couldn't support this.
 
btap said:
From Jeff Leiper’s newsletter today:

Minto wins appeal on Parkdale/Wellington tower
For the length of time it took to issue, there's surprisingly little meat on the bones of the decision in Minto's favour by the Ontario Land Tribunal for its proposed 16-storey development at the corner of Parkdale/Wellington. That's not yet online, so I've posted the decision temporarily here. I will say that I'm disappointed, though not necessarily surprised given the direction the Tribunal has been taking. I'll connect with Minto in the coming weeks to see what their timeline is for development of the site and pass that on when I know.
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Jeff can shove it. Disappointed about what? It's density we need and it's a good midrise project that is designed well. The audacity.
 
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originalmuffins said:
Jeff can shove it. Disappointed about what? It's density we need and it's a good midrise project that is designed well. The audacity.
Click to expand...
Leiper is like the essence of progressive municipal politics in Ontario. Preach good policies but do everything in their power to counter such policies because the method is not "perfect" or "what my voters would prefer". Catherine McKenney was the same. As I told my family, if I ever move back to the NCR, I won't be in Ottawa because I can't afford it. When you tax housing and treat housing like cigarettes and cigarette addiction, expect less housing to be built
 
I have to wonder why it took this long for the OLT to approve this (3 years?) when they push municipalities to approve proposals in just a few months. Double standards.

Leiper is quite supportive of most projects, especially with the new Provincial directions, but he does seem to fight a bit more when it comes to traditional main street projects. I kind of get it, but I don't necessarily agree on his position for this one.
 
Leiper is asking for more information on OLT's reasons. But the bigger news is he expects demolition to begin in the spring and the project to finish by summer 2028.

Minto Parkdale/Wellington appeal
It's a bit complicated, but I wanted to pass on that I've prevailed upon the City's legal team to file a request for review to the Ontario Land Tribunal's decision in favour of Minto at 1186 Wellington. There's no consideration for reversing the OLT's decision, but I was dismayed at the paucity of details in the written order. From my and others' perspective, the decision simply re-iterated the arguments for and against the re-zoning and there's no discernible rationale as to why it found in favour of Minto. Win or lose, politicians and staff need to understand what the OLT is thinking when it looks at an appeal; its guidance is critical to establishing the lens through which we look at development review applications. My hope is that the review's outcome will be a more comprehensive rationale for the tribunal's decision. There is, I understand, jurisprudence that speaks specifically to the requirement to do more than "outline the evidence and argument and then state the tribunal's conclusion". Work on finalizing the site plan will continue while the Tribunal reviews the decision. In the meantime, indication from Minto is that they'll be undertaking work over the next several months to get ready to build. Preparations including demolition could occur through spring and summer prior to the beginning of excavation in 2025. The overall build would likely be completed if that schedule holds in summer of 2028.
 
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