Cambridge Mill Hotel | 38 & 24 fl | Proposed

[bravado]

I'm still amazed that this project seems to be continuing in the current financial climate:

https://www.cambridgetoday.ca/local-news...th-9670114

Fencing went up around former apartments at 115 and 113 Water Street North earlier this month and demolition began this week.

The properties will be consolidated with land already cleared at the corner of Water and Simcoe streets to house what was originally pitched as a seven-storey parking garage serving the condo and hotel across the street.

The plan is to connect the parking garage to the hotel with a raised pedestrian walkway over Water Street North.

...

Over the last few years, Pearle Hospitality had been trying to work with the city on a plan to build affordable rental units above the parking structure, but due to challenges posed by provincial regulations, the company was unable to move forward on that idea, Meek said in an email to CambridgeToday.

"We remain optimistic that these obstacles which impact more than just this site, can be resolved at the provincial and city levels, allowing for much-needed housing, including affordable units, in the downtown core in the future," she wrote.

Much of Galt's core is within a floodplain special policy area that requires any zoning amendment for increased density to get approval from various provincial ministries, Meek said.

"Based on initial discussions with city and ministry staff, we understand that this approval process is complex, time-consuming, and does not guarantee that the ministries will provide the necessary sign-offs," Meek wrote.

"Considering that a large portion of Downtown Galt is within a special policy area, we hope the city can collaborate directly with the province to streamline this process to allow future planning applications for much-needed housing projects in the downtown cores of Cambridge."

This is the first I'm hearing about the idea of affordable housing on top of this parking structure. I look forward to Cambridge City Hall intentionally torpedoing it at the first opportunity.

[bravado]

https://www.cambridgetoday.ca/local-news...d-10896553

The company behind the Cambridge Mill condo and hotel towers has completed two studies required by the city and region to get a holding provision removed before construction can begin.

Once constructed, the Pearle Hospitality development of 130 Water St. N. will feature a 28-storey, 146-suite hotel and a 37-storey, 250-unit condo tower with more than 20,000 square feet of retail space, restaurant, and spa.

The city is expected to remove a holding provision for the site as soon as staff can assess the company's application for removal later this month.

Before work can begin beside the restaurant, the former brownfield required a record of site condition from the Ministry of the Environment Conservation and Parks.

That requirement was recently satisfied with a letter from MECP confirming the record of site condition meets residential standards.

The property was once the home of Galt Gas Works, a company that operated there from 1887 to 1911 and extracted coal oil from coal.

To me, when local councillors say "we approved all these projects but the shovels aren't in the ground!!!", they are being deceptive on purpose. Approval is just one step of an arcane system - and this project was "approved" in 2021. Either way, happy to see more progress on this amazing project.

[ZEBuilder]

To me, when local councillors say "we approved all these projects but the shovels aren't in the ground!!!", they are being deceptive on purpose. Approval is just one step of an arcane system - and this project was "approved" in 2021. Either way, happy to see more progress on this amazing project.

I wouldn't necessarily say they are being deceptive on purpose, it's certainly more a case of ignorance is bliss. They go ahead and make those comments without knowing the full extent of the system.

Anyone has the ability to go and find out the process of development, one should expect city councillors and anyone in a public facing city role to understand the process before they make comments, if one doesn't know the full extent of something they shouldn't talk about it, however people are ignorant.

It's not like the process is exceptionally difficult to understand, you can explain it to any high school aged kid and they'd be able to understand the process. It's purely ignorance if someone is making off hand comments like that.

1. Is your project conforming to the Official Plan, yes or no, yes move on to step 2. If no file OPA.
2. Is your project conforming to the Zoning By-Law, yes or no, yes move on to step 4. If no file ZBA.
3. Get OPA/ZBA approved if required.
4. Remove any Holding Provisions on the property (can generally be done concurrently with Site Plan)
5. File your Site Plan (this will have back and forth with city staff for any issues and will be revised through the process)
6. Conditional Site Plan approval (meaning the city has reviewed it against MOE guidelines for Water/Stormwater/Sewage, OPSD, DGSSMS, OBC, Region/City By-Laws and Design Manuals
7. Clear SPA conditions
8. File building permits
9. Permit issued

It's only at the time where conditional SPA is given where a project is officially approved. City council does not have a say in SPA, hence to them they "approved" something by granting OPA/ZBA when in reality that's only step 3 in the process when final approval is granted at step 7 which can be years apart. There's countless projects that take years to go between Step 7 and Step 9 but that comes down to market conditions more than anything.

It really isn't a case of an arcane process the process is explained on Cambridge's website Site Plan Approval Process - City of Cambridge. While it isn't laid out as nicely as say Kitchener website Site plans - City of Kitchener it still shows the process. However one should expect elected officials to conduct the due diligence to not say things that are inherently false.