Greater Sudbury’s planning committee approved the rezoning for an 826-unit apartment complex in downtown Sudbury on Monday.
Kaymic Developments (Ontario) Inc., the Trustees of All Nations Church, and the City of Greater Sudbury requested the rezoning. The two-building complex is still in the early stages of development, but it is expected to offer affordable and senior housing for the downtown core.
Before the rezoning was approved, the committee debated the amount of parking required for a complex of that size, as well as Kaymic Developments’ request for less parking than required.
Current Sudbury bylaws state that multi-unit dwellings must have a minimum of 1.5 parking spaces per unit. However, a 25% parking reduction can be applied if there is an affordable housing agreement.
City Councillor Geoff McCausland said that other cities are moving toward less parking and more active transportation. He asked city staff to look into what other cities are doing for parking in multi-unit dwellings and make recommendations for parking solutions. He said that regardless of parking, the apartment complex is needed in the downtown area.
"What downtown Sudbury needs more than anything is people, people living in the area, walking the streets, eating at the restaurants, shopping at the stores," McCausland said. "826 units would fast forward our downtown and our city in a serious way."
Councillor Al Sizer agreed, saying that the city’s residents have been asking for more affordable and senior housing for years, according to a CBC report.
“It helps with our people living downtown. We talked about having people living in the downtown core will help the downtown businesses and rejuvenate the downtown; it fits that also," Sizer said.
