WATERLOO — The University of Waterloo hopes to get approval to build a new student residence at 155 University Avenue West.
This student housing would be a 12-storey apartment building with one and two-bedroom units to replace part of a motor vehicle parking lot.
The property is currently zoned ‘Holding University College’ ((H)UC-40) and is located on the campus of the University of Waterloo, east of South Campus Hall.
The University of Waterloo collaborates with Two Row, an Indigenous-owned architecture firm, to prioritize Indigenous principles in the design.
The building will incorporate numerous aspects of Indigenous communities, including a healing garden and gathering spaces equipped for cleansing ceremonies.
The subject lands are in multiple MTSAs, such as the Laurier-Waterloo Park ION transit stop, 400m away, and the University of Waterloo ION transit stop, 550m from the residence.
Multiple GRT bus routes are nearby, including routes 12, 29, and Express 202. Most campus amenities are also approximately a 15-minute walk from these subject lands.
The proposal oers 106 vehicle spaces for residents and 125 bicycle spaces, with 58 being indoor.
Expanding the current parking lot is necessary to allow the same amount of parking spaces it currently provides for students and faculty who park in it.
The lands are approximately 4.8 hectares in size and would hold 510 students with ancillary and amenity spaces on the first two storeys of the building.
Proposed amenity spaces include a games room, a seminar room, several types of study spaces, bicycle storage, a media room and more. Also, a shared kitchen space is proposed for floors three through 12, with each residential floor having one.
The subject lands contain a holding provision due to a railway within 75m of the property. The University hopes to remove this provision and construct a pedestrian bridge above this right-of-way railway. The bridge would access another student residence.
The city requires a barrier from railway operations for safety reasons and needs the building to buer noise from railway operations.
The application requires zoning bylaw amendments, including a reduced side yard setback of zero metres from the required 5.0m to allow the pedestrian bridge and a reduction of the tower setback on the podium from the required 3.0m to zero metres.
A public meeting is being held on November 6, 2023, for the community to ask questions or raise concerns.
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