New apartment coming to Northfield Drive corner

Nine-storey development near Conestoga Mall will contain 161 units; residents worry over privacy

WATERLOO — Construction fencing is up to build a new ninestorey apartment building at the southeast corner of Northfield Drive East and Kraus Drive in Waterloo, near Conestoga Mall.

The development that will contain 161 units and 237 bedrooms will be situated on what is now a large, underused parking lot across the street from the plaza with The Keg and Burger King on the north side of Northfield.

The new building will be known as 611 Davenport Rd., on property including two existing six-storey apartment buildings — 605 and 609 Davenport Rd. — that are controlled by the same developer, Avila Investments Ltd.

Some residents currently living in 609 are skeptical about the project they worry will infringe on their privacy and existing green space.

One woman who asked to remain anonymous said she counted 32 trees that were removed from the property, many of them along the periphery facing Northfield. She provided photos to the Waterloo Chronicle, saying that it will likely take another 50 years to replace some of them, if replanting is even part of the plan.

She also fears that part of her building’s current front lawn will be reduced to reconfigure parking on the site. “They’re taking all the greenery — all the trees and the lawn,” she said. “We’re going to have headlights in our face and people staring in our windows.”

The project didn’t need to go through city council. Waterloo’s director of planning, Joel Cotter, said existing zoning on the site permits structures up to 81 metres high (25 storeys).

From a provincial policy perspective, the land falls within a settlement area in a designated built-up area, a strategic growth area, and in proximity to a major transit station.

The developer had launched an appeal with the Local Planning Appeals Tribunal for the city’s failure to make a decision within the legislated 30-day time frame on an initial site plan application for a 16-storey building. During that process, which took place in 2020, the developer advanced a nine-storey option that formed a settlement agreeable to the city, Cotter said.

The prior proposal was a longer slab design, he explained.

“This nine-storey building does kind of go along Northfield and wrap the corner with an extension on to Kraus Drive. So it frames the corner a little bit better. It’s lower in height.”

Cotter said the site plan agreement is finalized and the developer has obtained a building permit to proceed with construction.

The city doesn’t have a private tree bylaw, so trees on private properties can be removed by owners for servicing and building needs, he said. “We encourage ideally that not to occur unless it’s required.”

Landscaping was one of the components of the hearing and ultimately the tribunal approved the landscape drawing and the removal of the trees, Cotter said.

Notice was sent to nearby property owners inviting them to participate in the hearing, but no one registered, he added.

A number of factors weighed in on the particular design that was ultimately approved. A Hydro One transmission corridor cuts through the area and parking is being reconfigured to meet the “global needs” for all buildings on the property.

“I think it’s a good fit with access to other services and goods, so I think it’s a pretty good solution for this site,” Cotter said.