Marr-Phillipo House owners propose 8-storey, 169-unit mixed-use development for property in Ancaster
By Kevin Werner Reporter Ancaster News Mon., Jan. 24, 2022
The owners of the Wilson Street East property, where the Marr-Phillipo House is located, have proposed building an eight-storey mixed-use development that will include 169 residential units.
UrbanCore Developments and Spallacci Homes, which own the 0.8-hectare land, submitted the application for an Official Plan amendment and a zoning bylaw amendment to develop 392, 398, 400, 402, 406 and 412 Wilson St. E. and 15 Lorne Ave. The application also says the project will have 1,677 square metres (18,055 square feet) of commercial space.
The application is larger than what the owners had proposed in 2019, with 122 condominium units and 13,500 square feet of commercial space in a six-storey complex.
The Wilson Street East property had been the site of a gas station, which has prompted the owners to relocate the 1840 Marr-Phillipo House and remediate the land. The owners have said they would be applying to the city’s environmental remediation and site enhancement (ERASE) grant program to help defray the costs of an estimated $1.6-million cleanup.
Last year, council agreed to the owners’ permit to relocate the Marr-Phillipo House to the corner of the property on Lorne Avenue to begin the cleanup.
Both UrbanCore and Spallacci Homes did not return a request for comment on the application.
Sergio Manchia, an Ancaster resident and the principal of UrbanCore Developments, who is partnering with developer Frank Spallacci on the project, said to the Rotary Club of Ancaster A.M. in 2019 that the town’s three-storey height bylaw is obsolete, considering the realities of current development needs. The official plan for the area was adopted in 1984, but the prevailing development trend today is for higher-density development within existing urban boundaries.
“Frank and I are passionate about putting something up that we can all be very proud of and that will bring people to the community,” said Manchia at the time.
Ancaster Coun. Lloyd Ferguson, who has seen the application, said he “had a problem” with the height and would ask the owners to change it.
Bob Maton, president of the Ancaster Village Heritage Community, said the group is against any development that violates the Ancaster Wilson Street Secondary Plan. The document limits the height of projects to two and a half storeys, or 9.5 metres.
He said the eight storeys violate the plan, as does the seven-storey project at the corner of Wilson Street East and Rousseaux Street.
He said the secondary plan was created with public input about a decade ago.
“A similar process should be undertaken to decide if there is public will in Ancaster to revise the bylaw to allow these massive developments,” he said. “The process should be participatory and democratic, which this is not.”
In addition, the owners still have to fulfil the city’s requirements to relocate the Marr-Phillipo House before any development can begin.
There are 18 requirements that the owners must follow to protect the building. The building, the owners say, is currently on the site of the gas station and autobody shop that must be remediated to remove contaminants.
The historic structure is also in need of restoration work, including the removal of the rear attached structure and improvements required to mend the cracking foundation and stone walls.
“We are watching this carefully and will participate where we can,” Maton said.
https://www.thespec.com/local-ancast...eid=914e0b1e91
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