More residential towers could be coming to downtown Barrie along Dunlop Street West, a proposed project that was met with a sense of excitement and trepidation at a public meeting Wednesday night.
At a special general committee meeting before council goes on its summer break, the public was invited to voice their opinions on an application for a zoning bylaw amendment for the one-acre collection of properties on Dunlop Street West and Mary Street.
A zoning bylaw amendment is needed to build the 30- and 34-storey highrises, which would have around 500 residential units as well as commercial space on the lower floors.
The proposal includes the entire block, from Maple Avenue over to Mary Street, just north of the downtown transit terminal.
Around a dozen businesses would be affected by the project, including the Uptown Theater, the History Barbershop, The Market, Grand Theatre/Barrie Film Festival, One Love Island Cuisine, Mike's Barber Shop, Easy Livin', Pay Day Loans, and Avail Cannabis Clinics. At the end of the block is a vacant lot, while around the corner on Mary Street are The Sewing House and Mea's Place restaurant.
Kevin Bechard, principal planner from Weston Consulting, made a presentation on behalf of Barrie Waterfront Developments at last night's meeting. He called the design "a departure" from traditional highrises, adding it has a slender build form with a pointed tower.
"This development will also will introduce a new landmark for Barrie, in terms of its downtown and its skyline," he said, adding the project is also in line with developments on the neighbouring block. "These are tall buildings for Barrie, at 30 and 34 (storeys), but I think the future is heading in that direction."
The two towers would be connected by a six-storey podium. There would also be five storeys of above-ground parking.
A walkway would be located between the buildings to provide access to the bus station building (there are also plans for a farmers' market at the terminal) and to the waterfront.
"We're not putting up a wall of building along Dunlop Street that's going to act as a barrier," Bechard said. "It's intended to provide a connection to the waterfront and accessibility through the building itself. .. This is a building that's intended to have four sides, so you're not going to end up with a wall or a service area."
If approved, the 30-storey tower would be built first, followed by the 34-storey structure.
Several residents spoke up about the proposed development. Most said they were in favour of seeing redevelopment in that area of the downtown, while others were concerned about the city losing more of its historic buildings.
"I'm very excited about this proposal," said longtime downtown resident Wendy Cook. "It's so nice to finally see a proposal for the west end of downtown. Everything is concentrated on the east, so when you walk down and go west of the Five Points, it's so shabby. It's depressing.
"I love this, I think it's great. I can't conceal my enthusiasm. If you're going to develop downtown, this is the way to do it," she added. "This could take a blighted neighbourhood and turn it into something really beautiful."
Downtown businessman Adam Leboeuf said the proposal is an opportunity for the city "to shine."
"Nothing like this has ever been proposed. It's an amazing property, with amazing potential," said Leboeuf, whose family has run a jewelry store on Dunlop Street, across the street from the proposed development, for decades.
"For a city that spent millions of dollars on their waterfront, this is the jewel that will crown it," he added.
Allandale resident Cathy Colebatch, who's a staunch supporter of protecting the city's heritage, said she was excited to see development coming to a beleaguered area of downtown, but not at that location.
"The development itself is exciting," she said. "I just wish it wasn't in that block where we potentially have to demolish an entire block of heritage or century-old buildings, including where the Barrie Film (Festival) is now.
"I really have a problem with us demolishing buildings to put in new buildings. We have lots of vacant space around Barrie," added Colebatch.
Downtown resident Victoria Butler called the building proposal "beautiful, I love it, but I just have a lot of reservations about how often we destroy all of our historical buildings.
"It just seems like every other day there's a new a thing being torn and we don't really look like Barrie anymore," Butler added. "We just fear that we're going to look like Toronto, and I don't want to live in Toronto. That's why I live here."
The highrise plan would be to complete the project in three phases.
Phase 1 is proposed as the 30-storey building on the eastern half of the property, which includes 227 residential units. Phase 2 is proposed as the 34-storey building on the western half, including 268 units. Phase 3 is dependent upon anticipated decline in parking demand over time, such as through public transit improvements, autonomous vehicles, etc.
"There's a real excitement about the downtown and I think this project is really important to Barrie," Bechard said. "It harbours wealth for the future and the re-establishment of the future and rebuilding of the downtown."
Jordan Lambie, the city's senior urban design planner, outlined some of the concerns raised at a recent neighbourhood meeting about the project. Forty people attended a neighbourhood meeting in late-April.
"Various residents voiced support for the proposed development noting the visually appealing buildings and improved conditions for the downtown," he said. "Other comments received related to height and density of the proposed development, the displacement of the Barrie Film Festival, insufficient parking, and the proposed residential unit sizes."
Claudine Benoit, director of the Barrie Film Festival which operates out of a building on the block, said the festival will continue despite having to eventually move out of the area.
"This development is not going to happen right away and Uptown (Theater) has not officially announced a date of closure, so we do not anticipate losing our current venue immediately," Benoit said.
The film festival has been running for more than 20 years and has an annual attendance of 25,000 people. Organizers lease a pair of screens at the Uptown Theater and also own their own equipment.
"We've had discussions with the developer about this project and hope to work with them and the city to determine both an interim solution and the best future venue location for the Barrie Film Festival," Benoit added.
Coun. Mike McCann asked devloper Gary Silverberg why he chose to pursue a project like this in Barrie.
"I saw a great opportunity in Barrie," Silverberg said. "I'm not really interested in working just for the sake of working. I wanted to do something special. We were looking for somewhere we could add some value."
McCann said he'd never been as excited about a building proposal before.
"I feel like I'm five years old at Christmas," the councillor said. "This is really going to change Barrie in a positive way."
The application remains under review and a city staff report is expected in the fall to update councillors on the project.
