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CKMS Community News, Newsroom

CKMS News -2024-10-08- Municipal-lands development partnership proposal deadline passed

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CKMS News -2024-10-08- Municipal-lands development partnership proposal deadline passed.

dan kellar
Waterloo – During Monday’s council meeting, Waterloo Mayor Dorothy McCabe said that she is “excited to see that there were a number of applications that came in” to develop city owned land near RIM park in Waterloo.  McCabe also called the project at 2025 University Ave E, “a significant opportunity for the city”. 

In June, CKMS News reported that “the project aims to provide over 700 homes in a sustainable, affordable neighbourhood with commercial opportunities”.  

The project is partially funded by the federal Housing Accelerator fund and is awaiting a provincial Ministerial Zoning Order (MZO) which will fast track development. 

This show features Ron Ormson, the Commissioner of  Integrated planning and public works for the city of Waterloo speaking at the October 7th council meeting. After discussing other housing and development plans the city is working on, Ormson outlined the next steps on the 2025 University Ave project.

 

CKMS Community News, Newsroom

Waterloo City Council approves community-driven changes for affordable housing project

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MP Holmes, Kitchener, ON

After gathering community input, the City of Waterloo has modified its plan to develop vacant city land near Rim Park.

Michelle Lee, an Executive Officer at the City of Waterloo, highlighted how the idea of increasing building heights from 6 storeys to 12. The push for more commercial units came from the community.

The project aims to provide over 700 homes in a sustainable, affordable neighbourhood with commercial opportunities. The city has submitted the modified plan and now waits for approval for the Minister’s Zoning Order (MZO). An MZO authorizes the Minister of Municipal Affairs to fast track zoning changes on specific pieces of land.

Financial structure and long-term affordability remain critical questions still to be resolved. Staff favour land lease models, where land remains in community ownership but is leased to developers, while Sean Campbell, the Executive Director of Union Sustainable Development Cooperative, cautioned against prioritizing land leases over other potential models, highlighting that the core objective is perpetual affordability and public benefit.