New Condo Plan for Wortley Village Worries Some Residents

An $8-million “marquee” luxury-condo development planned for Wortley Village is whipping up debate in the historic neighbourhood. But some nearby merchants are concerned the building will add to existing parking problems and some residents say the size and design is not a good fit for the neighbourhood.

The proposed four-storey building would be built on a parking lot at Wortley Rd. and Bruce St. The building would have about 24 luxury condo units priced from $250,000 to $400,000 and 6,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space. The development would have a two-tier parking garage with 36 parking spots for residential and retail tenants, eight spots short of city requirements. Because of higher ceilings in the condo units, the building would be slightly taller than the 12-metre limit allowed under city guidelines. Parking shouldn’t be a major issue in an area where pedestrian traffic is common. “It’s not like a suburban shopping mall. The retailers we are looking for are expecting street parking and pedestrian traffic,” said David Tennant Jr. of developer, the Hampton Group.

Only 15 businesses in the immediate area of the development were notified by city officials about the details of the project. The Old South Community Organization sponsored a meeting Saturday morning on the issue at the Landon Branch of the London Public Library.

So, the local business owners main concern is with parking? It’s a very walkable village, all necessities are provided within a 10 minute walking distance, so why should parking be a major concern? All this empty lot has done the past few years was become an eyesore to the village. People have gotten used to parking in this lot, and don’t want to see a change. There is plenty of parking still available in the area (the grocery store, bank, etc.). Get rid of the eyesore already!! Oh and the design of the building and site looks really quite nice, it’d be nice to see something new in the area.

Source: LFPress.com