Green light recommended for Brockville Shopping Centre plan

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City council is expected to vote next week on a recommendation to approve a sweeping redevelopment of the Brockville Shopping Centre.

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Council’s planning and development committee on Tuesday approved a recommendation to allow official plan and zoning bylaw amendments needed to allow a mix of residential, commercial and other development on the Stewart Boulevard site.

The recommendation follows a public meeting on the subject on Feb. 6, where there were no significant objections to the plan.

The property at 125 Stewart Boulevard is currently home to a handful of tenants, but for decades it was a bustling hub of commercial activity before losing many of its anchor retailers. The LCBO closed in 2012, Zellers closed in 2013, and Brett’s Valu-Mart closed its doors in 2016, leaving behind a few smaller retailers.

In February 2022, city council approved official plan and zoning bylaw amendments to allow a mixed-use commercial hub including two residential apartment towers containing up to 350 apartment units.

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The site’s owner, Jameel Madhani, has outlined sweeping plans for the site, including much-needed housing, supportive housing for people struggling with homelessness, a transit hub and a medical clinic.

Madhani is now seeking to sever the lot into four sections: three new parcels, and one retained parcel. They would be redeveloped to accommodate a mix of commercial and residential uses on each property, “providing the ability for additional financing opportunities,” planning staff has noted.

The first proposed severance would take in the currently vacant lands along the northeast of the property, now the rear parking lot, where Madhani is planning the phased development of three apartment dwellings totalling a maximum of 210 residential units.

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The retained parcel is the vastest tract of land, including the site of the current Stingers and former LCBO property, the commercial strip mall and large parking lot. It is to include a private park, while the Stingers site is to remain and the LCBO turned into a site for social services and supportive housing.

A municipal transit hub and transit loop are also proposed for this area, Madhani’s planning consultants note, and an additional maximum of 140 apartment units.

The two other severances take in, respectively, the Beer Store site in the southeast, fronting on Central Avenue, and the Dairy Queen/Oil Changers site fronting onto Central and Stewart Boulevard.

In order to make the project viable, Madhani is seeking changes to minimum parking requirements, and a break on other amenity requirements such as children’s play areas.

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While the parking reductions drew some concerns from city staffers, the recommendation is going forward nonetheless. The only changes city planning staff made to Madhani’s request involved some building heights, and the owner’s request for flexibility to have the ground floor of certain buildings be either 100 per cent residential or 100 per cent commercial, depending on market needs.

Brockville chief planning officer Andrew McGinnis said the city opposes the 100-per-cent-commercial option for the current Stingers site (formerly Zellers), as well as the current Beer Store and Oil Changers/Dairy Queen lands.

The Stingers site in particular needs to have provisions in place to ensure commercial development, said McGinnis, noting the recommendation is to retain the current limit of 20 per cent residential on the ground floor.

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“It’s the gateway to the city; it’s a commercial site,” McGinnis told the committee. “We would have no power. If 100 per cent was approved, the whole site could become residential, and you’d have no commercial component there at all.”

Similarly, the recommendation going forward requires the developer to retain commercial uses on the ground floor in the Beer Store and Oil Changers/Dairy Queen lots. In the latter two cases, the city is also seeking lower allowable maximum building heights. Madhani was looking for a maximum height of 27 metres, but the city is allowing 17. 5 metres.

The chief planning officer also noted discussions will be needed with the provincial transportation ministry involving the two entrances to the site on Stewart Boulevard, given the proximity of the 401 and future highway expansion plans.

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The proposed redevelopment got favourable reviews from the planning committee members, who unanimously backed the recommendation.

Coun. Nathalie Lavergne compared the plan to the Distillery District in Toronto with its mix of apartments and commercial uses, and noted the proximity to the 401 would be a draw to young professionals.

“I think it’s a great opportunity for us,” she said.

“I like the concept.”

Mayor Matt Wren said anyone concerned with the heightened traffic at the now-underused site should remember the history of the Brockville Shopping Centre, when it was home to Zellers, a grocery store, a bank and restaurants.

“That was a busy spot and our roads managed the traffic,” said the mayor.

“I think it’s something that we’re going to get used to.”

The full council is expected to vote on the matter next Tuesday.

Rzajac@postmedia.com

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