The Cortes on King | 6 fl | Complete

[Spokes]

Six-storey apartment approved by City of Waterloo and transport advocacy group
May 31, 2013 | Paige Desmond | Waterloo Region Record | Link

WATERLOO — A six-storey apartment building at 222 King St. S. received unanimous approval from Waterloo councillors this week and a solid endorsement from the Tri-Cities Transport Action group.

KGR Holdings' The Cortes on King project will limit surface parking, provide rooftop amenity space for residents and is located on the future light rail transit line.

"We appreciate the developers trying to reduce the amount of parking on site," said Chris Klein of the Tri-Cities Transport Action Group, urging council to approve a rezoning request.

A mix of one- and two-bedroom apartments, the project will front on King and back on to Dodds Lane.

There will be 49 parking spaces, 17 at street level and 32 underground.

Commercial space is planned for the ground floor for a more active streetscape.

Coun. Melissa Durrell questioned if 17 spots at street level would be enough for visitors to businesses on the ground floor.

"My concern is that there won't be enough parking there and it will spill into the residential area," she said.

Traffic has been a major issue for homeowners in uptown neighbourhoods. A transportation study is underway in uptown west that could lead to traffic calming measures.

The developers say they have a unique solution to meet everyone's parking needs.

Lease agreements will be arranged with five units that would allow commercial enterprises on the building's ground floor to use their parking spots during the day.

J.L. Cortes Architect Corporation is expected to be the main commercial tenant, said Jorge Cortes Jr., president of KGR Holdings.

A bike-parking storage area will be in the underground parking garage, with access off Dodds Lane.

Street-level landscaping will be incorporated into the design. To accommodate larger trees, tunnels will be created underneath the concrete to allow the roots to grow.

KGR Holdings is also expecting site plan approval soon for a project in Kitchener. The nine-floor, 70-unit condo project will be built on King Street East.