A number of Sault Ste. Marie residents attended a drop-in information session at the Lady of Good Counsel Church Thursday night, eager to see the unveiling of plans for a potential new housing development in the central part of town.
If approved by the city, the Sal-Dan Developments Ltd. proposal will consist of two nine-storey buildings at 22 MacDonald Ave., also known to locals as the former Sault Collegiate Institute playing fields at the corner of MacDonald and Gladstone.
“I think this is an amazing thing for the Sault,” said a 64-year-old attendee who wished to remain anonymous, but disclosed that she is currently looking at downsizing along with her husband.
“It’s going to be beautiful, it’s in a beautiful area — the scenery and the view from some of these units is going to be amazing.”
SalDan will be applying to rezone the property from its current multiple unit designation to two 116-unit, nine-storey buildings for rental purposes or a potential condominium development.
The building will have two levels of underground indoor parking for 192 vehicles, 96 above-ground spaces and 18 barrier-free spaces for a total of 288 on-site parking spaces.
But for an attendee who lives nearby — who did not wish to be named — there’s a concern that the increased population density will “change the dynamics” of the neighbourhood that she has lived in for more than two decades.
“All of sudden you have quiet, central neighbourhoods that have existed for a very long time, and you’re going to double or triple the amount of people in that area. It seems like a lot to me,” she told SooToday. “It’s concerning.”
In 2019, developers Joe and Dave Ruscio and John Martella proposed putting a 12-storey, 90-unit building on the site. The would-be developers subsequently scaled back their proposal to an eight-storey building with 65 units due to opposition from neighbours.
Although that building was approved, it never ended up materializing.
“Everybody in the neighbourhood went nuts complaining about it — they got lots of complaints about it,” said a man who has lived in the neighbourhood for roughly four decades.
“Now, they’re going to build two buildings. But because the city needs so many more housing units, nobody’s complaining about it that I know of. I’m fine with it either way.”
He openly wondered what traffic in the area would like if the project came to fruition. “They might have some congestion with traffic on this corner, because you have the hill and there are no lights,” the man said.
The rezoning application will be submitted to city council in the coming weeks, which would allow for members of the public to express any concerns they may have at that time.
- with files from David Helwig