WATERLOO — AXIA Geocapital Inc., a local developer, plans to re-develop the 180 King Street South office building known as ‘Allen Square’ into a residential building with remaining commercial/office space on the ground floor.
Currently, the building is seven storeys high. If approved, Axia plans to add three storeys, bringing the building to approximately 39m in height and leaving 1,580 square metres of office/commercial space on the main floor.
The subject lands are conveniently located in an MTSA close to multiple ION transit stops, including the Willis Way and Allen Station transit stops.
The property is also in Waterloo’s Urban Growth Centre—where the city has deemed it essential to focus on development to create 15-minute neighbourhoods.
These ‘15-minute neighbourhoods’ focus on pedestrian-friendly areas to have everything close to people so they aren’t required to travel far.
This idea focuses on decreasing the need for individual vehicle transportation and supporting the idea of public transportation.
The planning report for 180 King Street South proposes 129 condo units ranging from one to three bedrooms per unit, totalling 166 bedrooms.
The subject lands are currently zoned ‘uptown mixed-use (U2-30)’, and a zoning by-law amendment to change the zoning to site-specific ‘uptown mixed-use (U2-40)’ is required to permit the proposed development application.
Changing the zoning allows this unique project to follow the updated Official Plan policies for the city of Waterloo while respecting the structure of the 1970s building.
The property is also subject to several minor variances that the city approved for use as an office building.
The office building is approximately 40 years old, and Axia would need approval for multiple setbacks, an increase in building height, and reduced parking.
One of many setback requests includes altering the distance of the underground parking structure from George Street by 6.22m, Allen Street by 0.53m, and King Street South by 0.55m.
Another setback involves reducing the street distance between the above-ground parking structure from George Street and King Street South by less than two metres for each street.
The other proposed setbacks involve reducing the size of the sidewalks for street line setbacks to allow the construction of an extra storey and to allow the building to be balcony-inclusive.
Also, a reduction in commercial-use parking spaces is proposed to welcome the idea of a pedestrian-focused area and allow for more resident parking spaces.
There are 136 resident parking spaces and 16 non-residential spaces. Five of these spaces are deemed to be barrier-free.
The developer is also including 112 bicycle spaces on the property.
Before any permits to begin construction are given, many changes to amend the use of this office building into a mixed-use commercial and residential building will need approval from council.
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