Plans for high-rise complex on Baseline to change

Posted Feb 16, 2012 By Jennifer McIntosh

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EMC news - A plan for a series of apartment buildings at Baseline Road and Sandcastle Drive has been changed to make it more palatable to the community.

The application for the development near the Queensway Carleton Hospital would have seen 588 units developed at 2940 Baseline Rd., with the tallest building reaching 16 storeys.

College Coun. Rick Chiarelli said the community was concerned because the company also owns the adjacent property that currently houses Bouclair and some medical offices.

"They didn't want to see a mirror development at some point," he said.

So, in a move the councillor called rare, property developer Brigil Plantimun Group withdrew the application and are in the midst of developing a proposal that will address the two sites as a whole.

The community met with the developer in January to discuss the changes, which include a possible deal to get grocery chain Produce Depot onto the site in place of Bouclair.

Chiarelli said Brigil has been in talks with the owners of the Produce Depot on Carling Avenue. The developer has also planned to add in a restaurant and coffee shop, with the possibility of a gym.

Chiarelli said it might be possible to make a grocery store on the site a condition of the zoning.

The buildings are still tall - with the lowest at eight storeys and the highest at 18 - and Chiarelli said he would like to see further compromise.

The current zoning allows for seven storeys, but the mix of residential and commercial uses should balance out the traffic, Chiarelli said.

Another caveat is that the developer has to complete another traffic study that would take into account the IKEA expansion and the Courtyards development at Morrison Drive and Draper Avenue.

Chiarelli said the developer could file an application as early as this month and the new plan has addressed a number of the community's concerns.




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