Three new housing developments get the green light from Kitchener council

A rendering shows the development proposed at 528-550 Lancaster Street West beside the Grand River. (Council agenda package/City of Kitchener)

Kitchener council approved the construction of three new housing developments at a meeting Monday.

The largest, at 528-550 Lancaster St. W., will see 1,300 units split between four towers ranging from 12 to 34 storeys. The development will include a mix of one and two-bedroom apartments, 917 parking spaces and more than 1,000 bicycle spots, the city said in a news release.

Three homes currently at the site will be demolished to make way for construction. Tenants living there have been offered apartments in a recently built 10-storey tower at 528 Lancaster St. W., representatives for Vive Development and MHBC Planning told council on Monday.

If they accept a unit in the new building, Litt said the displaced tenants will be able to pay their current rental rate for a period of five years, before it goes up to around $1425.

“We thought this was a reasonable ask that would give folks enough time to find accommodation elsewhere,” Stephen Litt with Vive Development said when questioned by councillors about the increase.

At the corner of Weber Street East and Franklin Street, a mixed-use development with two towers was approved. The towers, one 17-storeys, the other 19-storeys, will sit atop a four-storey podium. The development will have 443 residential units, 376 square metres of residential space and parking for 319 vehicles and 423 bicycles.

Another mixed-use development is planned for Weber Street near Montgomery Road. The new build will be made up of a 17-storey tower and a 27-storey tower atop an eight-storey podium. It will have 481 residential units, 650 square metres of ground-floor commercial space and underground parking for 270 vehicles.