8-storey apartment building planned for Water St., Marina Blvd. in north end of Peterborough

Idea sketch of the cafe for Cherney Properties’ proposed Headwater Commerce residential improvement on the southwest nook of Water Avenue and Marina Boulevard within the north finish of Peterborough.

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A brand new eight-storey house advanced with ground-level townhouses is being proposed for Marina Boulevard and Water Avenue, changing a industrial plaza that may be demolished to make room.

Though the redevelopment might be a very long time away — the appliance nonetheless wants a rezoning, for example — some residents are already saying it is going to be the “ruination” of their neighbourhood of single-family homes if it will get constructed.

“No! This isn't Toronto!” mentioned Martha Abrahamse, who lives on Marina Boulevard.

Abrahamse mentioned she works as a nurse in Toronto and is busy — too busy to tackle the job of combating again in opposition to builders.

“That’s the issue — what number of Erin Brockoviches are there on this world?” she requested.

The developer is Cherney Properties. Principal Michael Cherney mentioned his objective is so as to add much-needed housing inventory alongside Water Avenue, a serious artery within the metropolis’s north finish.

He’s planning 99 models: a mixture of spacious townhouses together with one- and two-bedroom rental flats (with some flats rented at reasonably priced charges).

Cherney has employed native agency Lett Architects to design the event, which he’s calling Headwater Commons.

Architect Invoice Lett mentioned this week that Cherney requested his agency to give you the “greater and greatest use” of the property.

Lett mentioned that along with housing they’re additionally planning industrial area on the bottom stage — there might be a café there, for instance, and area for different commerce.

To redevelop, Cherney plans to demolish the plaza the place Peterborough-Kawartha MPP Dave Smith’s constituency workplace and a few shops are positioned.

The redevelopment would additionally see the demolition of Ron Lay Motor Vehicles to the south (Lay couldn't be reached for touch upon Tuesday).

Smith informed The Examiner by electronic mail that whereas he’s operating for re-election within the spring and want to stay in his present constituency workplace, if he turns into MPP once more, he might at all times transfer his workplace.

“There's a very excessive want in our neighborhood for extra purpose-built rental housing, and I'm very happy to assist facilitate anybody who desires to attempt to handle a few of these challenges in our neighborhood,” he said.

Peterborough Professional Sort out opened two years in the past within the plaza. Enterprise director Summer season Wooden mentioned the shop will transfer — and that there will probably be an announcement about that quickly.

She informed The Examiner she’s joyful for Cherney Properties.

“Housing is precisely what Peterborough wants and we expect it is going to be an awesome facelift for the neighborhood,” she said by electronic mail.

In the meantime a GTA developer is proposing one other six-storey house constructing throughout Marina Boulevard on the vacant land at 1139 Water St., whereas a brand new firehall goes to be constructed quickly to exchange the close by Northcrest Area (which is underneath demolition).

All that plus a brand new eight-storey house constructing will generate a lot site visitors that it is going to be exhausting for neighbours to exit their driveways on Marina Boulevard, says Roger Mallory.

Mallory has lived on Marina Boulevard since 1965 and says there have been strictly single-family dwellings within the neighbourhood when he first purchased his house.

“Now you’ll have the 2 of this stuff (house buildings) sticking up within the air?” he mentioned. “It’s ridiculous.”

Michael Gallant, who labored on the design for the proposed Headwater Commons alongside intern architect Ian McGee, acknowledged there’s been “neighborhood apprehension concerning the density that’s coming to the realm.”

However Gallant thinks the townhouses set this improvement aside — that these spacious models will attraction to downsizers, for whom not a lot housing at the moment exists within the metropolis.

Plus he famous that the reasonably priced flats are much-needed.

“It’s good to see certainly one of our native, main landholders placing their foot within the ring to assist us with the housing disaster and the affordability disaster and doing it in a significant means.”

The event’s web site is headwatercommons.ca/