PEC Community Partners, owners of Base31, received their final round of approval from the Planning and Development Committee on September 17th. A “Block Plan” of subdivision carried in a 6-4 vote. 

Councillors Braney, Pennell, Engelsdorfer, and MacNaughton were opposed. Councillors St-Jean and Roberts were absent. 

The approval means construction of a 120-unit rental building can get underway immediately. It is currently making its way through site plan approval with County planning staff.

The Plan parcels 160 acres covered by an MZO into eight blocks.

The parcels can be further subdivided through part lot control, which, unlike severance applications, does not need municipal planning approval.

”The Block Plan will allow for strategic infill developments,” said Mike Pettigrew, Planner with Biglieri Group.

The blocks include the Revitalization District, Apartment Building A, and a new mixed residential-commercial district along the top of the cliff on County Road 22, opposite the Base.

The most urgent piece is the rental building, which PEC Community Partners are eager to build right away. Chris Marchese of DECO Communities noted that construction will begin in 2025, and be completed within 36 months. 

The purpose-built rental, which will be built next to the Sergeants Mess Hall and off the Kingsley Road entrance, will include 120 units divided into studio and 2-bedroom apartments. 10 percent will be affordable with funding from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC). In keeping with CMCH guidelines, “affordable” means 30 percent of median household income. 

Councillor MacNaughton took the opportunity to press the Base’s representatives on their sustainability commitments. 

“In early days, Base31 talked about using heat pump technology for heating and cooling, and since then there has been some effort to direct additional natural gas resources,” she noted.

“Has there been a change in that regard?”

Without confirming what kind of heating technology they planned to use, Mr. Marchese noted the developers were compliant with the energy efficiency requirements of CMHC’s MLI Select Program. 

“On a site plan by site plan basis, we’re committed to sustainable efforts,” he said. “We’re evaluating different methodologies that can create sustainable solutions.”

Alexandra De Gasperis, VP of DECO Communities, noted, “the apartment building does not include a district energy type heating and cooling. We did investigate it for this block, but it was not feasible for the affordability component of it.” 

District energy is a centralized heating and cooling system that distributes thermal energy to a network of buildings. 

“We are continuing to investigate it with providers like EnWave for Village A and for future villages,” she said. 

“For the rental building it was not sustainable, it was not financially feasible.”

Ownership and management of the building will remain with PEC Community Partners. “We don’t plan to hand it off to a third party and step away from it,” said Mr. Marchese.

Water and sanitary servicing will be supplied by the private source that already services the Revitalization District. 

Approval of the subdivision into 8 lots does not provide blanket approval for future development. Site plan approvals by County staff are still required for any new construction.