Kitchener gives green light to 25-storey tower proposal in midtown

25-storey tower proposal approved for midtown From CTV Kitchener's Colton Wiens: The City of Kitchener has given the greenlight to a 25-storey tower proposal in the midtown area.

The landscape of K-W's midtown neighbourhood could look very different in the near future.

A City of Kitchener planning committee approved the proposal for a 25-storey tower from 890 to 900 King Street West Wednesday night.

The building site is directly across from Grand River Hospital and an LRT stop.

"It's not very often that you find a site of this size literally across the road from an existing LRT stop and across the street from a large employment and node like Grand River Hospital, as well as other employment nodes that are up and down King Street," said Jodie Wacko of commercial developer Cantiro King General Partner Ltd.

The proposal includes 231 residential units, with five per cent designated as affordable housing. There will also be 108 parking spots and ground level commercial space.

Cantiro says they're also working on a partnership with the hospital to use the third level of the tower to house families visiting patients, similar to projects like the Ronald McDonald House.

City council will make the final decision on the project at its next meeting on March 21.