Affordable Housing in Beechwood

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This project supports the Region of Waterloo's strategic focus area(s): An icon representing the Region's strategic focus area Healthy, safe and inclusive communities.Aerial view of land parcel with boundaries highlighted.

Welcome to the 555 Beechwood EngageWR page. The Region is starting to plan for an innovative housing project in this community that will provide affordable homes to individuals and families. Visit this page for updates, information, and virtual opportunities to provide feedback on the project as it moves forward. You can also subscribe to this page and will then receive updates by email.

There is a growing need for affordable housing across our region. In Waterloo, more than 11,000 families with low incomes may find it difficult to obtain safe, adequate, and affordable housing. Of these families, two-thirds spend 30% or more of their household income on shelter, which means they have limited means to meet their other basic needs.

We have an opportunity to make a difference! 555 Beechwood is the first parcel of surplus land owned by the Region of Waterloo being planned for affordable housing. Creating affordable homes is a priority identified by the community and formalized in the 10 Year Housing and Homelessness Plan, the Region of Waterloo Strategic Plan, and the City of Waterloo Strategic Plan.

Our intention is that this project will fit within the current official plan and zoning permissions for 555 Beechwood. The property is designated as Mixed-use Medium Density Residential in the City’s Official Plan. The maximum that the current zoning allows for is a building height 20 metres or six storeys.

As of August 2020 , we plan to seek proposals from the private and non-profit housing sectors for a welcoming and innovative mixed-residential development. To help make this project a success, the Region and the builder will engage the Beechwood community in the design process. We will look to you for feedback on things like green space, green building features and design features and will keep you informed through key steps in the development.

Thanks for your interest, and we look forward to engaging with you in this exciting new development!



This project supports the Region of Waterloo's strategic focus area(s): An icon representing the Region's strategic focus area Healthy, safe and inclusive communities.Aerial view of land parcel with boundaries highlighted.

Welcome to the 555 Beechwood EngageWR page. The Region is starting to plan for an innovative housing project in this community that will provide affordable homes to individuals and families. Visit this page for updates, information, and virtual opportunities to provide feedback on the project as it moves forward. You can also subscribe to this page and will then receive updates by email.

There is a growing need for affordable housing across our region. In Waterloo, more than 11,000 families with low incomes may find it difficult to obtain safe, adequate, and affordable housing. Of these families, two-thirds spend 30% or more of their household income on shelter, which means they have limited means to meet their other basic needs.

We have an opportunity to make a difference! 555 Beechwood is the first parcel of surplus land owned by the Region of Waterloo being planned for affordable housing. Creating affordable homes is a priority identified by the community and formalized in the 10 Year Housing and Homelessness Plan, the Region of Waterloo Strategic Plan, and the City of Waterloo Strategic Plan.

Our intention is that this project will fit within the current official plan and zoning permissions for 555 Beechwood. The property is designated as Mixed-use Medium Density Residential in the City’s Official Plan. The maximum that the current zoning allows for is a building height 20 metres or six storeys.

As of August 2020 , we plan to seek proposals from the private and non-profit housing sectors for a welcoming and innovative mixed-residential development. To help make this project a success, the Region and the builder will engage the Beechwood community in the design process. We will look to you for feedback on things like green space, green building features and design features and will keep you informed through key steps in the development.

Thanks for your interest, and we look forward to engaging with you in this exciting new development!



  • Excavation work on site

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    On Monday, October 30, contractors will be on site to complete work to find the position of underground water pipes. They will arrive at the site by 7:30 a.m. to being work at 8:00 a.m.

    This is a follow up to the work that was done on September 20. We expect that the work will be complete within the day.

    Questions? Email us at beechwood@regionofwaterloo.ca or call us at 519-575-4400 x3442 and leave a message.

    The Beechwood Project team

  • Committee of Adjustment Application – Correction to Information Notice sent to Neighbouring Property Owners

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    An information notice from the City of Waterloo for the Committee of Adjustment application recently circulated to neighbours of 555 Beechwood describes the new development as a nine storey building.

    This is incorrect. The application before Committee of Adjustment is for a six storey building.

    The City of Waterloo has corrected the notice and is recirculating it to neighbours. A sign will be posted on the property in the next few days that correctly identifies the new development as six storeys.

    If you have any questions, email us at beechwood@regionofwaterloo.ca or call us at 519 575-4400 x3442.

    Thank you,

    The Beechwood Project Team

  • Committee of Adjustment Application

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    Southside Group, the developer of the 555 Beechwood Drive property, has applied for a minor variance to lower the height of the first-floor ceiling. This request is to accommodate the sloping landscape of the site and comply with the overall building height limit.

    The City of Waterloo’s Committee of Adjustment will meet on August 15 to make the decision. For the agenda and more information, please see the City of Waterloo Council and Committee Meetings webpage. The agenda should be posted this week.

    If you have any questions or concerns please email us at Beechwood@regionofwaterloo.ca or call us at 519-575-4400 x3442 and leave a message.

  • Consultants will be on site

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    Now that the Agreement of Purchase and Sale has been signed, work is continuing on the site plan. Over the next few weeks, various consultants will be on site for many reasons. For example, engineers will be determining the exact location of the underground water infrastructure. Others will be verifying parts of the geotechnical report. All of this work needs to be done to finalize the site plan for the property.

    If you have any questions or concerns please email us at Beechwood@regionofwaterloo.ca or call us at 519-575-4400 x3442 and leave a message.

  • Moving Forward

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    The Region of Waterloo and Southside Management signed the Agreement of Purchase and Sale for 555 Beechwood in Waterloo. The transfer of land will take place after Southside’s design and site plan has been approved by the City of Waterloo.

    Southside will have all planning approvals in place within six months. Construction on the property will begin shortly after. The architect and City of Waterloo staff will review the site plan based on comments from other City departments and other agencies. Community input from the survey and Engage Waterloo Region website, as well as the two community meetings in August 2021 will also be considered.

    We will continue to send updates through the Beechwood EngageWR webpage.

    If you have any questions, please send them to Beechwood@regionofwaterloo.ca or leave a message at 519-575-4400 extension 3442.

  • Response to Community Engagement feedback

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    Late last summer the developer for the 555 Beechwood site, Southside Group, held two virtual community engagement sessions. Following these, a survey was posted on Engage to allow for more feedback on the design of the site. During these winter months Southside Group has been working with their architectural and engineering consultants on a site plan application to have the plan for 555 Beechwood approved by City of Waterloo staff. Southside Group and their consultants have considered all of the comments and survey responses received and have provided their responses. If you have any questions – please feel free to contact us through the Beechwood phone line (519-575-4400 x3442) or the Beechwood email (Beechwood@regionofwaterloo.ca). We will pass on your questions to Southside. Project completion is now anticipated for early 2024.

  • Survey Still Open

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    The survey for providing input into the design of 555 Beechwood Drive will remain open until this Friday, September 17. You still have time to submit any last minute feedback you may have.

    The notes from the Beechwood Community Outreach Meetings held in August have been posted in the Documents to Download section of the webpage.

  • Community Outreach Meeting Presentation Video and Survey

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    The developer team for 555 Beechwood Drive held two community outreach meetings on August 19th and received helpful feedback on their proposed design.

    To hear the information shared at the meeting, you can watch the video of their presentation.

    There's still time to provide your feedback on the design. To provide your input, you can complete the survey.


  • Site work and parking request meeting

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    MTE consultants have been and will continue to be on site to do some geotechnical investigations to assess the impact that the soil and rocks below the surface might have on a construction project. This is required for any development.

    On June 28th the City of Waterloo Council will consider a request from the Region of Waterloo to reduce parking requirements for the affordable units at 555 Beechwood. The Agenda is on the City of Waterloo’s webpage.

  • Upcoming Neighbourhood Meetings

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    The development of 555 Beechwood continues and we would like to invite you to hear about the work that has taken place so far to design these new homes in your community. We are hosting two virtual neighbourhood meetings where Nicholson Sheffield (the architect) and Southside Construction Ltd. (the developer) will showcase their draft designs for the property. During these meetings, there will be an opportunity for you to provide feedback on building design and site features.

    The meetings will be held on the following date and times:

    Thursday, August 19, 2:30pm (afternoon session)

    Thursday, August 19, 6:00pm (evening session)

    If you would like to attend one of the virtual neighborhood meetings, please email: info@nicholsonsheffield.ca

    In your email include include the following:

    1. your name
    2. your postal code
    3. your email address
    4. the session you wish to attend - afternoon or evening

    After receiving your email, Nicholson Sheffield will send you a Zoom link to the meeting.

    We are arranging to record the meeting and will post that on Engage for those who may not be able to attend the virtual meetings. We are also creating a survey to allow those who cannot attend the meeting to provide their feedback. The link to the survey will be sent out through Engage in August.

    If you have questions about the meeting, do not have a computer, or need other accommodation to attend the meeting(s) please connect through the following email or phone number:

    Beechwood@regionofwaterloo.ca

    519-575-4400 x3442

    Leave a message and someone will call you back.

    We look forward to hearing your feedback and questions!

Page last updated: 26 Oct 2023, 03:40 PM