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Townhouse project could be coming to Big Bay Point Road

Proposal comes back to city council on March 26
BigBayPointdrawing
This artist's rendering shows what a townhouse development could look like on Big Bay Point Road, near Yonge Street, if it receives final approval from Barrie city council.

Back-to-back townhouses could soon be coming to Big Bay Point Road in Barrie’s south end.

At Monday night’s general committee meeting, city councillors gave initial approval to rezone land to make way for 58 three-bedroom townhouses within three buildings.

The 1.24-acre property is located at 521, 527 and 531 Big Bay Point Rd., east of Yonge Street.

Innovative Planning Solutions wants the properties rezoned from residential single-detached to multiple dwelling to allow for the higher-density project.

Land uses in the area include residential to the north, east and west with primarily single-family homes, as well as commercial to the south and farther west.

“In staff’s opinion, the provision of 58 back-to-back townhouse units is considered appropriate and conforms to relevant provincial policy, the city’s Official Plan and complies with the policy planning framework established for intensification, while being respectful of the existing low-density development adjacent to the proposed development,” according to a city staff report.

This type of development is new to the city and they provide a compact design that efficiently uses the land, according to city staff.

As a more compact form, the developer’s targeted price point is $399,000 per unit, which is less than the average cost of a resale unit in Barrie, pegged at $438,828 in 2016, according to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation’s Housing Market Outlook.

A neighbourhood meeting was held Nov. 1 and was attended by less than 10 residents.

The initial concept plan was amended slightly following neighbourhood and public meetings. The amended plan reduced the number of townhouses from 60 to 58, and also increased the building setbacks/spatial separation distances of the proposed units to the adjacent residential properties to the east and west.

The motion will come back to city council on Monday, March 26 for a final decision.


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Raymond Bowe

About the Author: Raymond Bowe

Raymond is an award-winning journalist who has been reporting from Simcoe County since 2000
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