Draft Plan of Subdivision and Application to amend the Official Plan and Zoning for 446 Albert St

Changes to the Official Plan and the Zoning Bylaw for this location are required before a permit can be issued. This means that they submit an application that is reviewed by city planners and other agencies plus city council before anything can be built.

The Planning Partnership on behalf of 446 Albert Inc is proposing to construct 10 new mixed use residential towers and 2 residential towers ranging from 11 to 26 storeys in height with 2823 dwelling units, 3509 bedrooms and 3% of bedrooms proposed as affordable.

Official plan changes requested include:

• Amend Schedule A to designate the new public park as “Open Space”
• Amend Schedule A3 to designate the park block as “Parks and other Green Spaces”
• Amend Schedule B1 from “Medium High, 12 storeys” to “High Rise, 30 storeys”
• Amend Schedule E to identify the new “Local Road
• Amend Schedule F to identify new “Active Transportation Connections (conceptual)”
• Amend Area Specific Policy 59 to reflect the proposed development

Zoning bylaw changes requested include:

• rezone the lands from "Business Employment Two" to "Station Area Mixed Use"
• Additional permitted non residential uses above the first storey;
• An average street line setback of 4m along Albert Street;
• A 2m setback to the emergency access block;
• An increased streetline setback of 6.5m to Hazel Street;
• A reduced streetline setback to recognize a pinch point in Block 6;
• A reduced setback to recognize a retaining wall;
• A minimum amount of non residential gross floor area;
• To permit 50% of the non residential floor area as one unit;
• Increased density of 986 bedrooms per hectare across the entire Lands;
• Increased densities of 1065 bedrooms per hectare, 1095 bedrooms per hectare and 1,300 bedrooms per hectare for Blocks 1, 2 and 3 respectively;
• A minimum of 1,000 bedrooms across the Lands be in units with 2 or more bedrooms;
• A minimum of 3% of the total number of bedrooms be in affordable dwelling units;
• Reduced and increased stepbacks to reflect the angles of the property lines;
• To permit a minimum first storey height of 3.5m in a residential building on Block 3;
• Defining where building height is to be measured;
• To permit an average tower separation distance of 22m;
• To permit a minimum tower separation distance of 15.5m;
• To permit reduced tower separation to an interior lot line to reflect angled property lines;
• To permit an average horizontal tower dimension of 40m;
• To permit a maximum horizontal tower dimension of 45m;
• To permit an average tower footprint of 1,000 sq.m;
• To permit a maximum tower footprint of 1,200 sq.m;
• To require 0.6 bicycle parking spaces per unit with no ratio requirement for Type A and Type B bicycle parking spaces
• To allow a common outdoor area to be separated into different parts by a commercial patio or bicycle parking spaces.
• In addition to those identified throughout the process

Draft Plan of Subdivision requests include:

• Subdivide the subject lands into 12 blocks for mixed use residential, parkland and road infrastructure purposes
• Convey interior street to the City of Waterloo
• Convey emergency access block to the City of Waterloo
• Convey 0.47ha park to the City of Waterloo

Building height, units, housing types

Tallest tower: 26 storeys

Number of towers: 12

Number of units: 2823 units (3,509 bedrooms)

Unit sizes: mix of one, two and three bedroom units

Housing types: apartments

Amenity space: 17,737 sq metres

Non-residential floor space

Commercial: 6,692 sq metres

Parking

Parking: 1,171 (in structured parking areas)

Bicycle parking: 1,739

You can provide feedback to the planning department, and it will be shared with the council, or ask a question to learn more about this application.

Images are provided by the applicant and may not reflect the final design approved by the planning division.

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