> Stage 1A now achieved, HHS moves on with WLMH rebuild process Pg. 3 > Lincoln vets GO Secondary Plan details Pg. 4 > New service club for West Lincoln Pg. 5 > Grimsby 40 host potential candidate seminar Pg. 9 Thursday, March 8, 2018 Vol. 6 Issue 44
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An overflow crowd packed the Carnegie Building last Thursday to hear details on a proposed eight-storey condo in downtown Grimsby. Williscraft - Photo
Raucous crowd greets DeSantis proposal Developer, eight-storey condo proposal hammered by Grimsby residents By Mike Williscraft NewsNow The meeting to roll out a proposed eight-storey condo complex in downtown Grimsby never had a chance - it was doomed from the start. The meeting, hosted by developer Homes By DeSantis, which has proposed the building for the former site of the Roxy Theatre, was set for the Carnegie Building with doors opening at 6:30 p.m., a presentation to start at 7 p.m. By 6:15 p.m. the 40 chairs
set out were occupied with about 20 people standing around the room. By 6:40 p.m., members of the DeSantis team gathered up easels which were showcasing various aspects of the project to make room for more people. Scott Arbuckle, a senior planner with consultant with consultant IBI Group, started the program early by telling the crowd he was throwing Town under the bus for recommending the small hall which had about 120 people sardined in and
streaming down the stairs and out the door. In his opening comments, Arbuckle invited those in attendance to interject with any questions as the presentation unfolded and, with that, the struggle to get through it started with the very first anecdote which praised the redevelopment of Burlington. “We moved from Burlington to get away from all that,” shouted one man in the crowd. “if we wanted high rises in our neighbourhoods we would have just
stayed there.” From that point on there were anywhere between one and four questions offered up every 2-3 sentences for the remainder of the contentious affair. PARKING Parking was the first core issue brought up by Arbuckle as he noted there would be 125 parking spots, “with the majority in two floors of underground parking.” Many in the crowd shouted that was not near enough, while neighbouring property owner Irene
Broms said she has an existing problem with people parking in her lot and adding a major, underserviced building a few doors down would only magnify the problem. “My parking is being used now,” said Broms, who owns 6 Ontario Street, home to Brooke’s Barber Den and Sun Chasers with residential above. “If you’re planning for the future, you have to do it right and this is not the way. There must be a lot more thought See CONDO, Page 2