Council approved the Nicholas Street affordable housing development above Delhi Park last week in a recorded vote of 13 to 1. All but Councillor Pennell were in favour.

The development, by Alan Hirschfield’s Homes First, features 106 rental apartments, half of which will be offered at affordable rates made possible through Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) funding. 

Plans include a five-story apartment building, six townhouses, and two semi-detached homes on a 2-hectare (about 5 acres) lot with frontage on Nicholas St., above Delhi Park and the Mount Olivet Cemetery. A further eight units will be designated supportive housing and managed by Community Living Prince Edward.

The proposal features an accessible pathway into the park. Two thirds of the property will remain as landscaped green and open space. Innovative and sophisticated plans feature modular housing components. The apartment building is arranged around a central protected courtyard, and is built into the steep slope above the park in a way that keeps street frontage to just three storeys, while five storeys overlook Delhi.

Council approved rezoning the property from “Future Development” to Residential Type 3, allowing higher densities. The property will move from “Open Space Area” to “Town Residential Area.”

Kelly Graham, of SVN Architects and Planners, stressed the affordable rental housing, connection to Delhi Park, and mitigation of traffic both during and after construction. 

Pascal Monat, also of SVN, presented the plan to manage stormwater runoff on the slope in underground catch basins in a way that will “manage and reduce adverse impact on adjacent lands,” including the cemetery below.

Nearby residents from Nicholas, Cumberland, and Richmond streets voiced strong collective opposition. Concerns included the loss of part of the tree canopy above the park, green space, the proposed high density, and increased traffic on roads already in poor condition. 

“The architectural style of our neighbourhoods needs to change.
We need different types of housing. 
This is a great location to add density.”

— Victoria Taylor, VTLA STUDIO

The absence of sidewalks on Nicholas St. was a recurring concern for all. The increase in construction traffic poses a hazard to pedestrians. 

But planner Matt Coffey noted  sidewalks were “beyond the scope of development,” and would fall to the municipality. “They can be considered at a later date if there is a reconstruction project,” he said.

Resident after resident lamented the change the new apartment building and supportive housing posed to their small neighbourhood’s scale and feel.

But landscape architect Victoria Taylor, who is currently at work on the Delhi Park Community Connections project, spoke in favour, commending the housing development’s attention to a
pathway into Delhi Park, which will be brought into compliance with the Accessibility Act and promote active transportation links for walking and cycling.

She also welcomed the increase in affordable housing, something also top of mind for councillors,  and encouraged residents to  “look at the bigger picture of how this development benefits our entire community.”

“The architectural style of our neighbourhoods needs to change. We need different types of housing to house different needs and income levels and this is a great location to add density,” she noted.    

The project’s higher densities and lower prices align with Official Plan priorities for affordable housing, as well as the Provincial Policy Statement, which affirms that “settlement areas shall be the focus of growth and development.”

Councillor Roberts spoke fervently about the urgent need for affordable housing. “Every strategic plan,” he noted, “and third-party data driven research,” shows that housing prices have dramatically outpaced local incomes.

He cited data from the Ontario East Economic Commissions which shows Prince Edward County is the only County in the region with a declining working age population. Working-age people are leaving the County because they cannot afford to live here, at a rate of 4 percent per year. 

“I’m wondering if we get it,” he said.

Councillor Kate MacNaughton noted that while construction periods can be difficult, the outcome “will add to the neighbourhood, not take away from it.” 

Councillor St. Jean noted the current .2 percent rental vacancy rate in the County is the lowest in the region. Speaking to the mixed-density style of the development he said, “not everyone can afford, nor do they want single-family dwellings on large lots.”

But residents were not convinced. “We are a quiet neighborhood on Macaulay Mountain,” said Francine Landry, who lamented the loss of a “small town rural feel.” 

Katy Harrington worried that access to Delhi Park would be limited during construction, and that the development “will irrevocably change park users’ experience.”