A proposal to build condo and hotel towers along the Galt waterfront got a ringing endorsement from the city’s Economic Development Advisory Committee this week, setting the stage for a council decision on the development application once a staff report is completed sometime this fall.
On Wednesday, EDAC heard an overview on the development from Mackenzie Meek, planner and project manager at Pearle Hospitality, and lead architect on the project Patrick Simmons.
The Cambridge Mill owners want to complement the Water Street restaurant and wedding venue with a 28-storey, 150 suite hotel, a 37-storey condominium tower with 250 units of varying sizes, and over 20,000 square feet of retail space at the base featuring a restaurant, spa and room to lease.
Simmons, who lives in Galt and owns two heritage properties including his home on Dickson hill, later cautioned EDAC members on the city's plan to expand the Galt core Heritage Conservation District to encompass the Cambridge Mill property.
He said what Pearle wants to give back to the community “in exchange for being allowed to build this tall, dense development” is a “remarkable” public space between the building and the river.
A waterfront promenade would feature an enhanced pathway leading to the entrance of the building which has been pushed well back from the water.
“It will be a true people place where you’ll be proud to show off the city,” he said.
“Pearle really takes pride in enhancing the community and just working with the community in bringing projects that will really make it special," Meek told committee members. "And we want to do just that with what we’re proposing here in Cambridge with the hotel and condominium.”
Meek says the hotel, spa and restaurant would create up to 300 long-term jobs with the entire project bringing in $4.7 million in annual tax revenue to the city.
After a vote on the motion that received unanimous approval from EDAC members, Erik Dahm asked how the proposed Galt core Heritage Conservation District might impact the project.
During an earlier presentation, EDAC members questioned the expanded scope of the HCD and its potential to deter development and business interest in the core.
The juxtaposition of the two presentations prompted Dahm to ask Simmons what he thought the impact might be for the Pearle Hospitality proposal.
“I know height comes up every single meeting we have and it’s not surprising to hear there are more believers in a project like this than are against it,” Dahm added.
“Heritage conservation districts need to be used with care and caution,” Simmons said. “They’ve been successful in relatively small areas in highly homogenous urban fabric. Especially when there’s clarity and conviction among property owners.”
But using a HCD in an area the size of what’s proposed in Galt can be problematic, he added, calling the proposed boundary “a bit of an overreach.”
“If it doesn’t provide problems with this project, it certainly will with other projects in the coming years,” he said.
With some of the units in the condominium tower considered “attainable units,” committee member Pam Wolf asked what that term meant in terms of affordability.
“This is looking more at the middle class workers,” Meek explained. “It’s not subsidized housing, it’s attainable housing for people working in the city.”
EDAC member Filip Ivanovski asked if the developer had a dollar-per-square-foot projection in mind that could give some idea of the final selling price of some of the units.
But Simmons said it’s too far out to speculate.
“As far as sale prices go, this is going to take another three or four years til occupancy. A lot of developers have made the mistake of pricing and selling units too quickly and having to build in future dollars,” he said.
“It’s fair to say this will be at the upper end,” Simmons added, referring to the high end condos being build at the Elora Mill as a comparator.
“The target is to be the best in class in Cambridge for sure, if not Waterloo region.”
A parking garage located across Water Street from the hotel would be joined to the project with an overhead walkway.
Meek said the number of storeys in the parking garage is still to be determined and would come in under the maximum of seven allowed under current zoning. She added it will provide more space than required by the hotel and condominium.
“I love this project. I’ve loved this project since the beginning,” said committee chair Paul Brown before tabling a motion for EDAC to support the project.
City staff is expected to present a detailed report on the Pearle Hospitality proposal to council later this year.
