Photo credit: David Gough.
A community meeting was held Monday night to gather feedback from local residents about a housing development planned for the former W.T. Laing property in Wallaceburg.
While neighbours were mostly positive and upbeat about a proposed subdivision development in their neighbourhood, they did express concerns about increased on-street parking, possible flooding issues, and upkeep of the property prior to construction.
Trident Builders are the developers of the proposed subdivision, which will include 32 semi-detached homes along Lisgar and Elizabeth Streets. Additionally, it will include 24 townhouse units along Elgin Street, which will be rentals.
Former three-term Chatham-Kent mayor Randy Hope is a consultant for the developers to help move the project forward. He said there is a need for this type of housing development in Wallaceburg, noting demographic data shows that the community desperately needs new housing.
“You have the opportunity who work in the Sarnia and Lambton area, those who work in the community of Wallaceburg needing housing,” Hope explained. “You need transitional housing for the aging population who might want to get out of their big house and come to something a little smaller. We’re only hoping that this is a beginning of a progressive moment in the community of Wallaceburg to open up more housing opportunities.”
The project will have to go to Chatham-Kent council in the future for rezoning approval to proceed.
Hope said the municipality will also have to give the okay for infrastructure improvements to Elizabeth and Lisgar streets. He said they might go ahead with the townhouse phase first because capital improvements are not needed for that phase to move forward.
“The sooner we can get approvals, the sooner we can get the capital money, the sooner this gets done, the sooner it mitigates the problems. It may not solve all of them, but at least mitigate the problems they’re having today.”
At this point, the developers aren’t projecting any price-points for the units. Hope says they want to ensure the pricing is fair market value.
The proposal is expected to come before council in late November.
