Residents may soon be able to voice their opinions on an eight-storey, 85-unit apartment building in the heart of Charlottetown as the project now undergoes public consultation.
At a committee meeting on Wednesday, Charlottetown’s Planning Committee unanimously recommended that city council submit the housing proposal for public consultation.
City officials say the building would deliver many new units in the heart of downtown Charlottetown – in line with the city’s long-awaited new official plan that encourages the construction of high-density residential areas.
The new building would replace the address 149-151 Great George Street, including the building that houses the flower shop Hearts and Flowers, right next to Dow’s Fashions on the outer edge of Confederation Court Mall.
A Google Street View image of 149 and 151 Great George St., at the intersection with Kent Street. (Google)
The building would continue to have commercial space on the ground floor, but the commercial space on the second floor of the existing building would disappear. Apartments would be created from the second to the eighth floors.
In documents presented to planning committee members ahead of Wednesday’s meeting, planning staff highlighted only one potential drawback of the project: increased traffic downtown.
Overall, however, planning staff “believe that the project makes sense and has great potential to create additional and much-needed housing in the city center.” The conference package says.
Planning Committee Chair Alanna Jankov said she could not comment on this specific project as it is still in its early stages.
However, she said that given Prince Edward Island’s ongoing housing crisis, more such high-density development proposals could be expected.
A wider view of the proposed site of an 85-unit apartment building at the corner of Great George and Kent streets. (Cody MacKay/CBC)
“The draft of our official plan will be presented in September. It lists the corridors and junctions where we want to increase the density of development,” said Jankov.
“Given our population growth, of course we don’t have much choice. People have to live somewhere… that’s why we need more densification and more housing.”
The public could be consulted this fall
The proposal is backed by HIG LP Management Inc. and local directors include John Cudmore, Kendrick Banks and Richard and Phillip Homburg.
Another rendering of the proposed eight-story building, which will have commercial space on the ground floor and residential apartments above. (HIG LP Management Inc)
On Wednesday, none of the developers were available for comment.
In a statement, Banks, CFO of the Homburg Group, said they were “excited about the project and the opportunity to bring high-quality housing to downtown Charlottetown.”
But first, city councillors must vote on whether the proposal should be put out for public consultation.
If the city council does this, Jankov expects that citizens will have the opportunity to express their opinion on the project as early as autumn.
