Collegiate Hill residents fight proposed 12-storey apartment tower

Developers Joe and Dave Ruscio and John Martella have a battle on their hands over their plan to build a skyline-changing 12-storey apartment tower at the corner of MacDonald Avenue and Gladstone Avenue.

Two Collegiate Hill neighbours, Lynden Pond and Mary Loretta Harrison, have filed appeals of last month's decision by City Council rezoning 22 MacDonald Ave. from 'parks and recreation' to 'high-density residential.'

The proposed building on on former Sault Collegiate Institute playing fields would be about 42 metres tall and would dominate the Sault Ste. Marie skyline because the building site is 211 metres above sea level.

The Sault's tallest building is currently a 16-storey structure at 70 East Street, towering approximately 54 metres above ground that's about 179 metres above sea level.

"This infill construction in an established neighbourhood sets an alarming precedent for our city," says Pond.

One hundred and thirteen residents have signed a petition opposing the 90-unit building,

The proposed building site has been vacant since Sault Collegiate Institute across the street was demolished in 2001 to make room for Chartwell Collegiate Heights Retirement Residence.

The city's official plan requires high-density development to be generally restricted to major arterial streets and areas abutting the downtown core.

"There is a quaint charm to the pretty Victorian facades and gardens that make our neighbourhood an enjoyable place to live," Pond says in an appeal letter.

"The proposed 12-storey tower will dwarf our neighbourhood at 138 feet in height and tower over the existing mature trees. It is an ultra-modernist design with jarring colours that conflict with the existing urban fabric."

Vehicular access to the site would be off Gladstone Avenue.

"MacDonald Avenue is a collector, not an arterial road," Pond adds. "Locating a building of this height outside the city core and not on a major artery has not to my knowledge ever been done in our city."

"I don't feel city planning or City Council considered traffic flow when passing the re-zoning of the proposed building site. An estimated 200 trips per day will be entering and exiting on Gladstone Avenue. There are no stores within the area so frequent trips for groceries etc. will increase the road traffic significantly."

Pond also questions the wisdom of disturbing a ravine-bordering green area that's home to an ecosystem of fish and bird populations.

The developers are proposing to have 96 parking spaces in an outdoor lot, as well as 28 spaces in two single-storey garages and 24 in an underground garage adjacent to the apartment building.

It will now be up to the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal to decide whether issues raised by the Harrison and Pond warrant an appeal.