Eight-Storey, 128-Unit Rental Apartment Proposed for Owen Sound's East Side
Andpet Realty pitches rental housing with at least 10% affordable units. Whether the height and density suit the East Court Residences subdivision site goes to council July 13.
Andpet Realty Limited wants to build an eight-storey, 128-unit rental apartment building on the last vacant block of the East Court Residences subdivision on Owen Sound’s east side — a proposal that hinges on the City permitting a building more than twice as tall as its rules now allow on the site.
City council voted Monday to direct staff to keep processing the rezoning application, Zoning By-law Amendment No. 58, following a public meeting at council chambers. The vote does not approve the development.
It advances the file toward a staff recommendation report scheduled for July 13, the point at which council is expected to decide whether to approve, change or refuse the rezoning.
The site at 1201 15th Avenue East — formerly addressed as 1111 15th Avenue East — sits just southwest of existing retirement and long-term care facilities. It is Block 6 of the East Court Residences subdivision, a development that also includes a retirement residence and a mix of single and semi-detached homes, near East Ridge Community School and Georgian College.
Council set the framework for the subdivision in 2019 and gave it final approval in 2020, when the block was expected to hold about 120 dwelling units. Apartment use is already permitted on the property.
That history matters: the application is not about whether housing belongs on the block, but about the building’s height, density and a proposed shared-amenity use. The land is currently zoned General Residential (R5), which caps apartment buildings at 12 metres.
A pending citywide zoning update would change the base zone to Medium Density Residential and lift the cap to 14 metres, still well short of the 28 metres requested. The developer is asking for site-specific zoning that would allow:
a maximum height of eight storeys or 28 metres, whichever is greater;
a floor space index of 1.4, up from the 1.0 now permitted;
a “community lifestyle facility” as an added permitted use, with reduced parking for it;
a 20-metre setback along the western property line for any part of the building above six storeys; and
certain accessory structures in the front yard, set back at least 10 metres from the lot line.
The proposed density — about 127 units per hectare on roughly one hectare — falls within a site-specific limit of 130 units per hectare already set for the area, so no Official Plan amendment is required, according to the staff report by senior planner Margaret Potter.
The “community lifestyle facility” refers to shared spaces the developer proposes to offer to area residents, including a potential indoor woodworking space and an outdoor pickleball court.
The zoning by-law lists such facilities under institutional uses, which is why they must be added as a permitted use on the residential site.
The apartments are proposed as one- and two-bedroom units with balconies, served by 160 parking spaces: 78 at surface level and 82 underground.
According to the Planning Justification Report the applicant submitted through Baker Planning Group, the owner intends the building as rental housing, with at least 10% of units meeting the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation’s definition of affordable. That figure is the applicant’s stated intent; the staff report does not treat it as a binding condition.
The block presents a notable grade change, as 10th Street East runs about nine metres above the planned main entrance, and the plan includes a retaining wall along that street and two two-way driveways onto 15th Avenue East.
Supporting studies filed with the application include an urban design brief, a sun-shading study, a traffic opinion letter and a flight path letter; the staff report says those materials will be assessed in the July recommendation report.
Monday’s report was a technical one. It describes the proposal and the policies that apply, but does not recommend for or against the rezoning. Staff say public input from the meeting will be considered in the recommendation report due July 13.
Should council approve the rezoning, site plan approval would follow as a staff-delegated process. Development charges would apply at the building permit stage, with a possible discount for affordable units.
For more information, see the Council package from Monday’s meeting.
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