Proposed 10-storey tower near Springbank Park sparks pushback

A vacant lot across from Springbank Park’s main entrance on Commissioners Road may give way to a proposed 10-storey apartment tower that has rankled some neighbours who say the building near the gem of London green spaces would be too tall. City staff supports the plan for a 91-unit apartment tower at 1076-1080 Commissioners Rd. [...]

A vacant lot across from Springbank Park’s main entrance on Commissioners Road may give way to a proposed 10-storey apartment tower that has rankled some neighbours who say the building near the gem of London green spaces would be too tall. City staff supports the plan for a 91-unit apartment tower at 1076-1080 Commissioners Rd. W. and 396-402 North St. in a report going to city council’s planning and environment committee on Tuesday.

Tricar Properties Ltd. initially proposed a 12-storey building and has lowered it by two storeys but it is still too high, said Ward 6 Coun. Anna Hopkins, who represents the area. “I am disappointed in the recommendation” by city staff to approve the development, she said.

“There is a lot of construction now along Commissioners Road and the public is concerned about whether it fits. Ten storeys is not the standard, six is,” Hopkins said. The tower would be built on about half a hectare with 54 metres of frontage along Commissioners Road.

The property was the site of a single-detached home but is now vacant. The area has single-family homes, low to mid-rise apartments as well as some commercial plazas, but the 10-storey tower would change the feel of an important London community, Hopkins said. “It is a unique site,” she said.

“How we do this without upgrading Commissioners Road is a concern to me. It is already congested and there is a lot of other development.” The city has also approved the Byron Gravel Pits secondary plan, just south of the Commissioners Road site, so greater residential intensification for the area is looming, Hopkins said.

“I am very familiar with this area, I live around the corner and I see traffic and congestion.” If the development is approved by city politicians, it may be a long time until it is built. The Oxford wastewater treatment plant has to be updated to accommodate future building and work won’t be completed until 2029, the staff report says.

More than 20 area residents wrote to the committee expressing concern about the proposal, largely citing traffic and density issues and the suitability of a tower at the park entrance. “Springbank Park along with the network of public green spaces in the Forest City deserves to be treated carefully regarding high and mid-rise developments in the immediate perimeter. I think it’s important to be gradual as we want to rezone and repurpose existing residential land outward from these public spaces,” Greg Tchjen said in a letter to the committee.

“Each season visitors from all over London enjoy the walks, family barbecues, running events and other activities. We need to give these visitors some room to breathe and enjoy the uninterrupted sightlines of the space. If the city continues along this path, London is at the risk of making development decisions that will negatively impact the enjoyment of these green public spaces.”

Added Marie Devine: “People who will be living in this apartment are going to add to the crush, I also believe there are going to be business opportunities on the ground floor which will add to what I think will be chaos.” For Pauline Devilee, it is a safety issue as Byron is already too busy. “The roads are not able to safely, and efficiently carry the current traffic.

Our roads are narrow, with little to no ability to widen them. The proposed building is at the main entrance to Springbank Park. Many local children and families, as well as seniors and visitors to our area, enjoy this park, for pleasure, and the major activities that are held in the park.

Safety and accessibility are already issues.” The building would occupy 41 per cent of the lot exceeding the maximum of 30 per cent but the staff report says adjustments are possible. “The recommended increase in lot coverage does not detract the ability for an outdoor amenity space to be provided on site nor detract from the ability to provide landscape planting,” the report said.

Additional traffic created by the proposed apartment building can be accommodated, the report said. “No major concerns with the proposed intensity and increase in traffic volume were raised,” the report said.