The Adi Development Group of Burlington, Ont. is celebrating after winning an appeal at the Ontario Municipal Board (OMB), a decision that will enable the firm to start construction on a 26-storey condo tower in downtown Burlington after over a year of delays.
“We are elated,” said Adi CEO Tariq Adi in reaction to the news that the 240-unit Nautique project planned for Martha Street in the downtown got the go-ahead.
“We think this was a win for Adi and a win for the city and a win for homeowners at the end of the day who want to live downtown but can’t afford to live down there.”
That planning victory over the City of Burlington, announced Feb. 13, sets the stage for a busy next 12 months for the developer as Adi aims to release over 1,220 units on the market in Burlington and, for the first time, Toronto.
Burlington council voted to oppose the Nautique build in October 2016, citing height and other issues, and OMB hearings were held last February, March and July. The OMB adjudicator wrote the project is consistent with provincial intensification targets, the Golden Horseshoe growth plan and the Halton Region official plan.
The architect on the project is ICON.
The firm has taken a number of its other upcoming projects to the OMB to protect its rights, said the CEO, but meanwhile Adi said he is committed to working with city planners, politicians and neighbouring residents to reach consensus on project dimensions in each case.
One proposed project has already had a rough ride. Adi’s ultra-slender, 29-storey, 64 Prince Arthur project, proposed for Toronto’s Yorkville was met with strong criticism, along with some support, at a public meeting held Feb. 21. The proposal first drew attention last year when it was revealed New York’s CetraRuddy had come on as architect.
Adi told the media after the February meeting, “Sometimes, yes, they are emotionally charged and upset, but we’ll listen, and that’s part of the process.”
Adi conducted a global search for a signature architectural vision for the site, he said.
“CetraRuddy blew us away,” said Adi, noting the design would measure 300 to 400 square metres at its thinnest, much less “chunky” than typical towers that have a base of 750 square metres, and will be sensitive to the sky view and treeline.
“John Cetra is a genius. He sketched up this thin kind of tower that broke through the treeline and we just fell in love.”
The current plan for the luxury tower is to build 60 units in the 29 storeys. Prices will be in the millions, said Adi, adding his firm has received inquiries from brokers worldwide.
“The elevator ride will be interesting, to see who is going to be in that building,” he said.
The Prince Arthur proposal is one that could end up at the OMB and three others, including one in Toronto at 135 Portland St. that is proposed to rise to 14 storeys with 117 condos, have also been sent to the board by Adi Development Group.
Adi said the two Toronto projects were appealed to the OMB as a preemptive move to preserve Adi’s rights as the OMB transitions into the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal.
Adi is also planning to erect two residential buildings, the Valera and the Evoke, in the Appleby Line/407 region of Burlington. Both were originally slated for 19 storeys with the Valera targeted for 414 units and the Evoke proposed at 621 units. The Valera would be built first as it conforms to the city’s current official plan, said Tariq Adi, while the Evoke has been appealed to the OMB. Final dimensions have not been confirmed.
CORE is the architect for Valera and ICON for Evoke, with Burlington’s Chamberlain Architect Services also involved.
Meanwhile construction continues at the 13-acre, $200-million StationWest condo project going up next to the Aldershot GO station in Burlington. Phase one of StationWest, consisting of 405 townhouses and midrise condos, is a precursor to a proposed second phase of high-density condos that could be configured in four 25-storey towers or two-50 or 55-storey towers, Adi said.
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