For News Tips & Advertising call...
Kitchener East - 519-578-8228
Kitchener West - 519-741-5892
EMAIL ADDRESS SET TO RECEIVE NEIGHBOURHOOD COMMENTS
Neighbours want say in redevelopment of former Notre Dame School property
Neighbours want say in redevelopment of former Notre Dame School property
By CARRIE DEBRONE
Kitchener Citizen
With the two ball diamonds, tennis courts and playground already demolished, residents who live in the area surrounding the former Notre Dame Catholic School in Kitchener are hoping the developer will meet with them to consider including a large park area in his plan of subdivision for the site.
Residents are also hoping the city and the developer will make sure the new homes built there are compatible with the current neighbourhood homes and that their concerns about increased traffic are addressed.
Closed since June 2010, the former Notre Dame Catholic School at 142 Rosemount Ave. in Kitchener was demolished in January by the developer Jorge Cortes Jr., President of Notre Dame Developments, to make way for a planned 49-home subdivision.
Before the school was taken down the whole 6-acre parcel of land it sat on was fenced off, making it impossible for neighbourhood families who used to regularly enjoyed the recreational features at the school to use the land.
The neighbours say they wish city officials had intervened before the demolition and exercised any power they had to control what happens on vacant lots before they are redeveloped.
“We didn’t even know they were going to demolish the school until it happened. No one contacted us. We had no warning,” said Tony Adlys who lives near the former school site.
“The school property won’t be developed for a few years, maybe even three years or more. They could have left the tennis courts and the ball diamonds alone and let us use them until then. It didn’t have to be done like this. They didn’t have to fence the entire property. It leaves a bad taste in your mouth,” said Adlys.
“The playground, ball diamonds and tennis courts are gone. What we want now is to know if we can get a park space that’s usable and whether we can have a say in what’s there,” Adlys said.
“The nearest playgrounds to us are across two busy streets with unattended, unlit crossings. Our kids used to ride their bikes at Notre Dame and play ball hockey on the tennis courts. We used to have fireworks there on May 24th. For a city that promotes communities and neighbourhoods this is really a shock,” said resident Kelly Ryan, who also lives near the site.
City of Kitchener Senior Planner Brian Bateman said he too was “a bit surprised” to find out that the developer had completely fenced off the whole 6 acre lot for the demolition of the school.
“Maybe he saw it as a liability issue but he could have had a meeting with the residents before he started to let them know what was going on. They might not have liked what he had planned to do, but at least they would have known. That’s not the way to build bridges in the community,” Bateman said.
The city has not received a formal plan of subdivision, but has seen preliminary plans for the development.
Under the property’s current Institutional 1 zoning, a zone change is not required for construction of the new single-family homes proposed.
The developer is also bound by law to donate five per cent of the former school site to the city for parkland, which in this case works out to about .4 acres. Anything above that amount would have to be negotiated with the developer.
Residents are concerned that the small amount of parkland legally required will not provide enough recreational space for the neighbourhood.
“What could you put on that? Well, maybe a play structure and then a bit of a grassed area for kids to play catch on or run around. It’s a far cry from what was at the school,” Bateman said, adding that regardless of whether the developer arranges a meeting with the residents, the city may hold a public meeting to hear the resident’s concerns.
Bateman said the planning process usually takes a few years from the time a plan is submitted until the construction of new homes starts.
Neighbours are hoping to meet with the developer Jorge Cortes Jr., President of Notre Dame Developments, to air their concerns. In a recent interview Cortes said he is prepared to provide parkland and wants to set up a meeting with residents within a few weeks.
”We’re going to keep them happy.” Cortes said.
Cortes, who purchased the property in April 2011, said the decision to fence off all the property was made because of liability issues and because he understands that the city prefers development lots to be totally cleared off, with nothing on them, before subdivision plans are submitted.
He said the playground equipment that had been on the school site had started to fall apart including a crack in the slide and that a notice had been placed on it telling people not to use it. For that reason, he said it was included in the demolition.
Cortes said he hopes to build a 49 single-family home subdivision with a ring road entrance off Sherwood Ave. The plan includes some houses built in the centre of the ring road with the remainder of the homes around the perimeter of the road.
Many of the homes will be two-storeys and he said, the smallest home will be about 1,700-square-feet.
“We intend to maintain the feel of the neighbourhood,” he said, adding that the exterior brick colours of the houses will be similar to the red and beige brick colours of the homes already established in the neighbourhood.
“We have a draft plan of subdivision and it’s ready to go. We will be submitting it to the city fairly soon,” Cortes said.
Bateman said a stormwater management area would be required on the site, which may mean a pond would have to be constructed.
If a pond is not required, Cortes said the stormwater area could be placed next to the park space and it too, could be used as a recreational area.
Neighbours have set up an email address to build a contact list and receive comments from anyone concerned about the project. They will then pass along the comments to the city and the developer. Anyone with comments can send them to: notredamedevelopment@yahoo.ca
Kitchener Citizen
With the two ball diamonds, tennis courts and playground already demolished, residents who live in the area surrounding the former Notre Dame Catholic School in Kitchener are hoping the developer will meet with them to consider including a large park area in his plan of subdivision for the site.
Residents are also hoping the city and the developer will make sure the new homes built there are compatible with the current neighbourhood homes and that their concerns about increased traffic are addressed.
Closed since June 2010, the former Notre Dame Catholic School at 142 Rosemount Ave. in Kitchener was demolished in January by the developer Jorge Cortes Jr., President of Notre Dame Developments, to make way for a planned 49-home subdivision.
Before the school was taken down the whole 6-acre parcel of land it sat on was fenced off, making it impossible for neighbourhood families who used to regularly enjoyed the recreational features at the school to use the land.
The neighbours say they wish city officials had intervened before the demolition and exercised any power they had to control what happens on vacant lots before they are redeveloped.
“We didn’t even know they were going to demolish the school until it happened. No one contacted us. We had no warning,” said Tony Adlys who lives near the former school site.
“The school property won’t be developed for a few years, maybe even three years or more. They could have left the tennis courts and the ball diamonds alone and let us use them until then. It didn’t have to be done like this. They didn’t have to fence the entire property. It leaves a bad taste in your mouth,” said Adlys.
“The playground, ball diamonds and tennis courts are gone. What we want now is to know if we can get a park space that’s usable and whether we can have a say in what’s there,” Adlys said.
“The nearest playgrounds to us are across two busy streets with unattended, unlit crossings. Our kids used to ride their bikes at Notre Dame and play ball hockey on the tennis courts. We used to have fireworks there on May 24th. For a city that promotes communities and neighbourhoods this is really a shock,” said resident Kelly Ryan, who also lives near the site.
City of Kitchener Senior Planner Brian Bateman said he too was “a bit surprised” to find out that the developer had completely fenced off the whole 6 acre lot for the demolition of the school.
“Maybe he saw it as a liability issue but he could have had a meeting with the residents before he started to let them know what was going on. They might not have liked what he had planned to do, but at least they would have known. That’s not the way to build bridges in the community,” Bateman said.
The city has not received a formal plan of subdivision, but has seen preliminary plans for the development.
Under the property’s current Institutional 1 zoning, a zone change is not required for construction of the new single-family homes proposed.
The developer is also bound by law to donate five per cent of the former school site to the city for parkland, which in this case works out to about .4 acres. Anything above that amount would have to be negotiated with the developer.
Residents are concerned that the small amount of parkland legally required will not provide enough recreational space for the neighbourhood.
“What could you put on that? Well, maybe a play structure and then a bit of a grassed area for kids to play catch on or run around. It’s a far cry from what was at the school,” Bateman said, adding that regardless of whether the developer arranges a meeting with the residents, the city may hold a public meeting to hear the resident’s concerns.
Bateman said the planning process usually takes a few years from the time a plan is submitted until the construction of new homes starts.
Neighbours are hoping to meet with the developer Jorge Cortes Jr., President of Notre Dame Developments, to air their concerns. In a recent interview Cortes said he is prepared to provide parkland and wants to set up a meeting with residents within a few weeks.
”We’re going to keep them happy.” Cortes said.
Cortes, who purchased the property in April 2011, said the decision to fence off all the property was made because of liability issues and because he understands that the city prefers development lots to be totally cleared off, with nothing on them, before subdivision plans are submitted.
He said the playground equipment that had been on the school site had started to fall apart including a crack in the slide and that a notice had been placed on it telling people not to use it. For that reason, he said it was included in the demolition.
Cortes said he hopes to build a 49 single-family home subdivision with a ring road entrance off Sherwood Ave. The plan includes some houses built in the centre of the ring road with the remainder of the homes around the perimeter of the road.
Many of the homes will be two-storeys and he said, the smallest home will be about 1,700-square-feet.
“We intend to maintain the feel of the neighbourhood,” he said, adding that the exterior brick colours of the houses will be similar to the red and beige brick colours of the homes already established in the neighbourhood.
“We have a draft plan of subdivision and it’s ready to go. We will be submitting it to the city fairly soon,” Cortes said.
Bateman said a stormwater management area would be required on the site, which may mean a pond would have to be constructed.
If a pond is not required, Cortes said the stormwater area could be placed next to the park space and it too, could be used as a recreational area.
Neighbours have set up an email address to build a contact list and receive comments from anyone concerned about the project. They will then pass along the comments to the city and the developer. Anyone with comments can send them to: notredamedevelopment@yahoo.ca