A nearly vacant commercial plaza on Wellington Road could soon be home to London’s next residential mega-project.
A proposal to build a 1,272 unit residential complex on the corner of Wellington Road and Bradley Avenue would include five high rises, some reaching as high as 27 storeys.
But not everyone is pleased with the idea.
“People feel, 'Why fight city hall?' And other people think ,'Yes we need to address it,'” said Debbie Lazzaro.
She and her husband have lived in their home down the street from the proposed development for the last 40 years.
“We’ve seen a lot of changes here,” she added.
Lazzaro is one of several neighbours who have expressed their concerns with the high-rises, including the need for more affordable housing and the fear of more traffic congestion in their neighbourhood.
“That’s a lot of traffic. When you're talking over 1,200 units in that building, that’s a lot of traffic, so that's really the main concern is the height.”
Ward 12 Coun. Elizabeth Peloza said the redevelopment would be a positive step forward.
“The developer has incorporated some of the community concerns including affordable housing, and working with staff as some residents have also requested a sidewalk being installed on the west side of Montgomery so as a ward councilor, I’m pushing for that as well,” said Peloza.
Despite resident’s concerns, she believes the upcoming bus rapid transit line will help relieve the extra traffic.
“Some residents have suggested that this is the right place for this development,” she said. “They believe that developments like should be built further away, so south of the 401. That would definitely guarantee that those people would have to drive back into the city since there's no transit out there.”
On Monday members of the public will have the opportunity to give their input to the planning committee.
The committee will eventually make its recommendation that will go to council to be approved or denied for a final decision on Aug. 2.
