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Renegotiations give Century Condo green light By Mike Williscraft NewsNow In the words of the Grateful Dead, “What a long strange trip it’s been.” For many, it does not matter how Grimsby council and developer Gabe DeSantis arrived at their destination last Tuesday in a meeting which spanned a total of nearly six hours - covering two major issues - they reached a unanimous decision which
A splash of colour
will see Century Condos proceed. The condo project proposed for the old Roxy Theatre site at 21 and 23 Main St. E. and 6 Doran Ave. has had fits and starts, ups and downs, bitter debate and now, finally, approvals for a major step in the process. Key aspects of the project which were approved include: PROPOSED RESIDENTIAL DETAILS
Niagara-based artist Dan Kozina has brought his psychedelic tattoo style to downtown Beamsville at the request of the Beamsville BIA. See Page 2 for more details. Marks - Photo
• Maximum 87 units; • 22 visitor parking spaces; • 131 tenant parking spaces, plus 10 tandem spots which are not included in the formula to meet parking requirements, and; • 1.5 parking spaces per unit. COMMERCIAL/RESTAURANT ZONING • 10 spaces commercial / 17 spaces restaurant (spaces for 93m2 minimum public restaurant area (1,000 of the 3,000 sq ft proposed, and; • If the number of residential units decreases, the 1.5 parking spaces dedicated to each of the removed units may be dedicated to increase the commercial floor space. After getting rejected at a special meeting held Aug. 27 - four days before a self-imposed negotiation deadline for an agreement, the project and its related land ownership debate over a right-of-way seemed destined for expensive litigation. Well beyond the 11th hour, cue Coun. Reg Freake. Freake, as one member of council who voted in the majority to reject the proposal on the table Aug. 27, got Coun. Lianne Vardy to second his motion to have council reconsider the motion, which included the Aug. 31 deadline for negotiation. Requiring a two-thirds majority and then a second motion to reconsider a settlement agreement, the project survived a major debate just to be revived for the lengthy discussion about the wants and needs to get enough votes to eventually be approved. In the end, it was clear for Freake, who opened his comments by noting the lengthy and ongoing confusion regarding various proposals at the Main Street site going back decades. “This is the first development which this town council has really had the ability to deal with. A lot of the previous ones were dealt with by the old council. I think it is safe to say, Mr. DeSantis, we want downtown to have a signature building, a building that is really going
to mean something; the best building in town, practically,” said Freake. “There are just a few concerns left, parking, obviously, is one of them. For me, I’d like to see a maximum of 87 units. I’d like to see 1.5 parking spaces per unit....no tandem parking.” “We still would like to see a restaurant there, with ample parking. The laneway is the legal thing we will have to deal with at some point in time. They are not big ‘asks’ and I don’t think I am speaking out of turn with anyone else in this room. These are my asks. I don’t know if any of them are surprises to you.” When the dust settled, the project had the approval of Freake and all members of council. “In light of my asks, and Mr. DeSantis has met everyone one of my asks... you have met my wish list and I will definitely move for this going forward,” said Freake. LENGTHY DISCUSSION In between those comments, was a long, detailed debate which proved progressive and fruitful. The Town’s legal counsel for this project, John Doherty, provided some background and history to set the course for the meeting’s discussion. Doherty said the project was initially proposed to council back in May 2018, but it was rejected then as well precipitating DeSantis to appeal. Aside from planning matters, Doherty noted the crux of a major concern for many - ownership of a right-of-way which runs through the heart of the land - “has been unresolved for over a century.” The last registered owner of the land, James Doran, died in 1912. With both Town of Grimsby and DeSantis applying to the courts for ownership, nothing has been resolved to date. “While we’re confident in our case in Superior Court, we did enter in negotiations,” said Doherty. See CONDO, Page 4