Micro-unit building proposed for Kitchener neighbourhood

CTV’s Colton Wiens explains the idea behind a new kind of housing proposal in Kitchener.

A proposed development in a Kitchener neighbourhood could bring a new type of housing to Waterloo Region.

Maxwell Building Consultants want to turn a single detached home at 132 Fairway Road North into a three-storey, 26-unit, affordable rental building. It would feature a mixture of one-bedroom apartments, ranging in size from 350-square-feet to 375-square-feet, and studio apartments, ranging from 240-square-feet to 260-square-feet.

The company’s president said while the units are about the size of a hotel room, the development would help fill a gap in the community.

“Affordable housing isn’t a single thing. It’s a wide range of things. So, in this particular case, we’ve been working on developing and learning about micro units, micro one bedrooms, micro studios. This property was big enough to support a decent sized micro project,” Mike Maxwell, President of Maxwell Building Consultants Ltd. said.

Maxwell said rent would cost around $860 to just over $1,100 per month.

Maxwell said by using modular furniture, each unit could have space for a bed, bathroom, kitchen, fridge, cooktop and a microwave.

“By recapturing the circulation space, you can make a closet and then when you’re not using the closet, you have the same kind of walkway space to get to your couch or get to your bed,” Maxwell said.

On Monday, Kitchener’s Planning and Strategic Initiatives Committee approved recommending a zoning change to allow multiple dwellings on the property. City staff said the project helps meet a major need in the community.

“We need units of all different sizes. Certainly, a high percentage of those in need of housing are singles or couples and so even small units like the ones proposed in this case are really important,” Andrew Pinnell, a senior planner with the City of Kitchener, said.

Neighbourhood concerns

News of the proposed development has not sat well with many of the neighbouring property owners. One person who lives next door to the site of the proposed development said she put her house up for sale because of the idea.

“The building that they’ve got going is so close to my property,” Anne Belanger, the neighbour, said during the committee meeting on Monday. “These windows are overlooking my living space, my bedroom, my living room. Why would I want 26 people looking in my space?”

“I am feeling like I am claustrophobic, like I’m going to be boxed in,” Juliana Cassady, another person who lives near the proposed development, said during the committee meeting. “Right across the street from me, in the vacant lot, they are going to put another 56 houses, low-income houses in that area as well. It is too much in the one area. That is my concern.”

A neighbour who lives two doors down from the proposed development said many in the area support low-income housing, but the height of the building jeopardizes privacy.

“[It is] too large a building in an area that doesn’t suit the development that they’re looking at doing,” Kimberly Dahms, who lives on Fairway Road, said. “[I’m] looking forward to the idea and the prospect of helping low-income housing and providing them the space that they require, but it’s just not suitable. It’s not fair.”

Dahms voiced concerns with parking requirements, waste collection and snow removal.

According to Maxwell, garbage will be collected on-site with standard garbage receptacles.

Dahms also felt the project represented a big change for people who are already living in the area.

“We’re not Toronto and we have to stop thinking like Toronto,” Dahms said. “We have to remember where our roots came from. This is Kitchener-Waterloo. Let’s treat it properly.”

Maxwell said the building height is lower than the maximum allowed and they’ve worked to minimize the number of windows.

“In a changing neighborhood in which the whole city and the whole region is changing, there’s going to be those competing interests, but at the end of the day, we have a growing population as well. And being well-served by transit, retail opportunities, job employment opportunities - that’s where we need to put the intensification in Waterloo Region,” Maxwell said.

During the meeting on Monday, comments were made by delegates worried about who would be renting units in the building. Maxwell said they would use an agency to find people that are most in need of housing and would be the right fit for the property.

Councillor Jason Deneault shared he was a bit shocked by the size of the units, but felt the development could be a helpful addition to the city.

“There are people who are living in tents and in huts and on the street, and I can be assured that somebody who is living in some of those situations would love to have a place where they could cook a meal, go to the washroom and live in relative safety,” Deneault said. “I take that personally because I grew up in low-income housing in Hamilton. And so, I guess I would be considered one of those people. And actually, because of the programs and because of some of the societal chances that I was able to be given, I’m here now. So, sometimes people just need to be given a chance to turn their life around.”

A site plan application is being reviewed. The planning and zoning amendments still need approval from council.

City council is expected to discuss the project when council meets on Aug. 25.