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Supportive housing project abandoned on Vespra St.

City could sell the property or possibly transfer the land to the county
16-03-2021 VespraNew (1)
This Vespra Street property in Barrie had been proposed for a supportive housing project.

The future of Barrie’s old fire-hall site is no longer a $3-million supportive housing project.

Council gave final approval to a motion Monday night to receive a staff report that says the city should shelve the project at 65 Vespra St., 70 and 72 Victoria St., alongside Innisfil Street, designed to help Barrie’s homeless with modular housing. 

“For those wondering what will happen at Vespra Street, there’s no decision out of tonight because the proposed use has been turned down,” said Mayor Jeff Lehman. “The motion… is to not proceed with the modular, supportive housing project, but rather to discuss other options for that site with the County of Simcoe.” 

Given the significant development constraints associated with the 1.49-acre site, the motion also says staff should consult with the county regarding its interest in this property during the longer term for affordable or supportive housing, and report back to Barrie councillors.

Also, staff will work with the county to determine sites or projects, other than on Vespra and Victoria streets, that the city could consider supporting to allow for a quicker provision of supportive housing.

Paul Oberholzer, speaking for the Brock Park Citizens Coalition, made a deputation to council last night and asked that this land become a community park.

“With all of this growth, intensification, we need our own community space,” he said. “There are many families in our neighbourhood with limited recreation budgets. Many could use some free recreational opportunities.

“Recreation is beneficial to our well-being. It resets your mind, reduces stress, is good for our physical health, builds family connection and connections with others in the community," Oberholzer added. 

Oberholzer said a community park could also help the neighbourhood celebrate its culture and heritage, honour First Nations, Barrie’s railway history, help host some of the city’s festivals, even grow food.

He said a straw poll done on the weekend  on Sanford, John, Bradford, Innisfil, Brock and Victoria streets  was overwhelmingly in favour of a community park in this space.

“This is a rare and great opportunity (to have a) previously paved area turned green,” Oberholzer said. “We need our own community space to develop, as a community.”

Barrie got some good affordable housing news last Friday. The federal government announced an almost $26-million insured loan to help construct a new residential building at 233-245 Dunlop St. W. 

MDM Developments’ project on Dunlop West is an eight-storey residential building that will provide Barrie with 93 new units of affordable rental housing close to public transit, schools and services for families.

The project received funding through Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation’s Rental Construction Financing initiative, a National Housing Strategy program that supports rental housing construction projects to encourage a stable supply of rental housing for middle-class families in expensive housing markets. 

Rick Pews, the city’s director of corporate facilities and the staff report’s author, says there are limitations to developing the Vespra/Victoria site, as conditions won’t allow for a quick build of the supportive housing that council and the community were seeking. Staff are recommending that the County of Simcoe be consulted with respect to alternative projects or sites that may allow for the quicker delivery of safe, supportive housing in Barrie.

Pews’ staff report lists several reasons why the project should not proceed. Unsuitable soil would need to be removed within the building area and extending five metres beyond. About 4,500 metric tonnes needs to be removed, at an estimated cost of $500,000 for dewatering, removing the existing soil and replacing it with engineered fill. 

There are also several other requirements that would need to be confirmed if the development proposal was to take shape, as part of the normal development approval process. They include the decommissioning of wells located on site, disposal of any excavated garbage, a site alteration permit, a fill management plan and a discharge agreement for construction dewatering and monitoring of groundwater and gas migration.

With the exception of updating the Phase 1 environmental assessment report, none of these items have been costed, the report says, and they would be in addition to the $500,000 estimate for soil remediation. 

All of these requirements would typically be addressed by the developer. If the city remains the landowner, it is deemed to be the developer, even if there is another entity constructing and managing the build and housing on the land.

The staff report does give council three possible options. It could recommend that 65 Vespra and 70/72 Victoria streets be placed on the market to be sold as-is to the highest bidder, with any net revenues from the sale be used to fund the city’s affordable housing community improvement plan. Staff say it might be possible to get a higher price for the land if it is redesignated and rezoned to residential before being offered for sale.

The second option is to transfer this property to the County of Simcoe, at no cost, and with a maximum $3-million contribution toward the soil remediation and development of the lands for supportive housing. The county is the local service manager for social housing and in the best position to either build housing there itself or determine an appropriate service provider to do so, according to city staff. Given the county’s interest in developing additional affordable and supportive housing, the risk of some other form of development occurring on the site is less likely than if the land is sold to the private sector.

The third option is proceeding with neighbourhood consultation and talks with the County of Simcoe and various outreach organizations simultaneously, to establish suitable criteria for a call for proposals for a service provider to construct and manage the building of a project on city-owned land at 65 Vespra and 70/72 Victoria streets. Staff don’t recommend this alternative and council has now rejected it as well. 

Oberholzer says a community park should be the fourth option and urged council to accept it. That was not included in the motion council passed Monday night.