112 stacked townhouses proposed for New To You property

FERGUS – A zoning bylaw amendment application hopes to clear the way for a 112-unit stacked townhouse development on the property that includes the New To You store on St. David St. N.

The proposed development also includes a brand new version of the New To You store to be built on the property at 950-960 St. David St. N.

“The intent is to develop an active, pedestrian-friendly mixed-use area that is conveniently located on a main thoroughfare in the Fergus settlement area while contributing to a greater range of housing choices,” states a planning justification report. 

The townhouses, located behind a fully reconstructed New To You store, would each have four two-bedroom units for a total of 28 townhouses in five clusters. Each will be 3.5-storeys tall while the commercial space will remain as a single storey. 

The townhouses will have 135 parking spaces and the store will have 53. 

On the application, Groves Hospital Volunteer Association (GHVA) are listed as the registered owners of the property and Reid’s Heritage Homes and Baker Planning Group as the applicants.

Howard Dobson, GHVA president, explained in a phone interview the association is in the process of selling the back lot to a developer so the volunteer association is in a better position to continue providing financial support to the hospital. 

“We’ve outgrown that store and the building is beginning to get a little old,” Dobson said. “We are using the funds from the sale of the land to build a new, larger store on the front which will set us up for many decades to come.”

The report states the existing New To You is intended to be demolished in two stages to allow the business to remain running. 

Dobson said GHVA was not involved in the process or decision making on what the developer would build although they knew it would be residential. 

However, he said in his opinion the development as proposed would address a housing shortage seen in Fergus and across the province. 

The proposed redevelopment is also said to include a “connected pedestrian network of walkways and demarcated crosswalks to St. David St. N.” 

There will be a public meeting for the zoning bylaw amendment as the current zoning does not permit mixed uses in a horizontal development form.

This meeting will be held at the township office on Aug. 31 at 6:30 p.m.