As a 20 year resident on…

As a 20 year resident on Simcoe St W, I have watched the demise of Jamesville. As it sits empty with so many unhoused citizens, many of us welcomed the original plan of stacked townhouses and mixed income housing and, of course, Indwell's housing complex. But now the plan has changed to include a 20 story building on the corner of James and Strachan. This is completely out of character for the neighborhood and was never discussed with residents as to how this could affect the area. If you look in the blocks surrounding Jamesville, you will see that there are a great percentage of houses that do not have driveways so street parking is the only option. With the number of units being built, where will people park? It's already pretty tight as far as parking goes. Also, we are a waterfront community. Are there not limits set in the Setting Sail program? Why are they able to override this? I believe the original plan would be the best for the neighbourhood. The fact that residents were not consulted nor informed about this until very recently shows that they knew there would be pushback. This area cannot handle this many units. That's it. We welcome subsidized housing back to the north end but it must be in a volume we can sustain.
Build it. But build it smartly. We want it done.