Roblin housing project gets OK after city denies appeal

A long-debated proposal to add more than 100 new homes at 4025 Roblin Blvd. is finally moving forward, after a series of obstacles.

On Wednesday, the city’s appeal committee denied an attempt to halt the project, instead supporting the proposal to add 119 housing units at the site, including a four-storey building with 101 multifamily units, plus 18 townhomes. This would add to an existing 33 units within the Odd Fellows building at the same property, located near the intersection of William Clement Parkway.

After multiple roadblocks to construction, the applicant said the decision to let the project proceed is a relief.

“My (first) application was approved by (city) council. If that approval had stuck, people would actually already be living there. I don’t object to due process. I’m very grateful to live in Canada and have democratic process … But as somebody who goes through this process multiple times per year, and I’ve been doing this for 20 years, (I’ve seen) that process get longer and longer and fraught with more risk,” said Daniel Serhal, the site’s owner and developer.

Serhal said delays have proven extremely frustrating. His initial plan aimed to create 229 dwelling units for tenants 55 and older. The total would include a 10-storey building and the Odd Fellows units. In February 2022, council approved a modified eight-storey building plan.

Community opposition led the provincial Municipal Board to hold its own hearing on the matter in the summer of 2022, which overturned the decision. The city approved a new proposal for the current all-ages four-storey building and townhomes in March, prior to Wednesday’s appeal.

Delays drove up the development’s price, while revisions have also removed dozens of much-needed housing units from the project, said Serhal.

“We are in a moment in time in Canada where we really need housing. (This) process is an impediment,” he said.

Serhal said he originally hoped to begin construction by spring 2023 but now expects it could start around 2025.

No one who signed up to appeal the current plan spoke during the Wednesday meeting.

In an interview, an appellant expressed concerns the development would disrupt traffic, sacrifice green space and clash with the rest of the neighbourhood.

“My concern about this project would be the traffic that it would add… I think the area’s already packed enough as it is. The other (issue is losing) green space. The whole reason people want to build (on) Roblin is because of the green space… but then they’re losing the green space because they keep building over it,” said Vincent Corbin.

Corbin said he believes the city should target more housing development to replace vacant buildings instead of adding tall buildings in suburban areas.

Another resident said she “begrudgingly” supports the revised proposal, which will allow a 45-foot tall (13.72-metre) building instead of the site’s 35-foot (10.67-metre) maximum, though she’d personally like to see no construction along McQuaker Drive. Kathryn Gibbings said she fears forcing the developer to construct a shorter building would lead construction to cover more ground horizontally across the property and destroy more of its trees, one of her key concerns.

“It’s clear that we have no choice but to accept that this land (will) be developed … but at what cost to the environment, to the enjoyment of our homes and to the beauty of the area?” said Gibbings.

She fears additional traffic and increased use of McQuaker Drive, a small, quiet street, would also result from the construction.

Other residents offered more enthusiastic support for the project.

“We had the opportunity to … go over what both (sides) could compromise … as a reasonable solution to our concerns and (the) ability to develop (this land),” said Brent Horrill, president of the condominium corporation for Assiniboine Crossing, a 55-plus bungalow development near the site.

Despite concerns about delay, Coun. Brian Mayes said he thinks the development ultimately benefited from the Municipal Board process, since many residents’ concerns have now been addressed.

“Democracy can take time, due process can take time. If all we want is density at any cost, that’s pretty easy, we’ll just abolish all the public hearings … Did it take four years? I suppose it did but, you know, that’s democracy,” said Mayes (St. Vital), who served as the meeting’s chairman.

He stressed it’s important to hear public concerns, including those linked to housing developments.

“Everybody’s critical of those in opposition until it’s (proposed on) their own street or their own forest,” he said.

Serhal said he will try to address as many remaining resident concerns as possible during the upcoming plan approval stage of the project, including maintaining a tree buffer between the development and McQuaker Drive.

joyanne.pursaga@freepress.mb.ca

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