A mixed-income, high-density rental community is being planned for a five-acre site on the wooded hill just above Delhi Park. 

The proposal from Homes First Nicholas includes a five-storey apartment complex built into the hill, six town houses, and two semi-detached homes, one dedicated to supportive housing.

A total of 106 units are proposed, including 98 apartments. Half would be rented at “affordable” rates as defined by CMHC. That means $1,500 for a one-bedroom apartment above Delhi Park.

Two new active transportation pathways will connect the development to downtown Picton along a 500-metre route through the park to Main Street. The switchback pathways would have a maximum grade of three percent, be wheelchair accessible, and maintained year-round.

Developer Alan Hirschfield, also of TRAE Resort and the former Fields of Wellington project, scooped up the site after the municipality lost provincial funding to buy the land.

“We want to maintain the greenspace and trees, while improving existing linkages to the park and providing a range of housing for the existing community,” he said.

He noted the development is one of the smallest and least costly he has worked on. It is intended to quickly provide low-cost rental housing in Picton.

Building into a very steep hill creates challenges, though. “We don’t want huge retaining walls and we want to keep as much of the existing tree canopy as possible,” he said. The innovative plans include prefabricated concrete walls and a tiered structure of three storeys on one side and five on the other, to take account of the hill into which it is built.

About 30 residents attended a public information meeting at Picton Town Hall August 28, most immediate neighbours of the site, from Nicholas, Cumberland, and Richmond streets, all of which would be access routes.

Several suggested that this was the wrong place for new housing, citing the difficult terrain, the small size of the property, and its limited road access.

Others worried about views of concrete buildings replacing the existing forest, the loss of mature trees, and species at risk.

Mr. Hirschfield said the plans had been adapted in response to neighbours’ concerns. “We want to be good neighbours,” he stressed, noting trees, setbacks, and greenspace will screen the new development.

The developer suggested many of the residents of the new apartments might be single mothers, perhaps without a car, and the residences would easily connect to the town. A children’s play area is planned for a protected interior courtyard.

Pat Heffernan of the Mount Olivet Cemetery, just east of the site, worried about water runoff affecting graves.

Mr. Hirschfield agreed that runoff and cemeteries don’t mix, and further study was warranted.

Planner Matt Coffey noted the developer is required to respond to concerns raised at the public meeting within a couple of months, before the file comes to Council’s Planning and Development Committee.

An application has been filed to change part of the property’s zoning from Park & Open Space to Town Residential. Areas of the site currently zoned Future Development (FD) and Institutional Zone (I) need to be rezoned to Special Residential Urban Type Three (R3).