826 unit apartment complex approved for downtown Sudbury

An 826 unit apartment complex could soon be coming to downtown Sudbury.

On Monday, Greater Sudbury's planning committee approved the rezoning for the two-building complex.

The request for rezoning was made byKaymic Developments (Ontario) Inc., the Trustees of All Nations Church and the City of Greater Sudbury. The development is still in early stages, but it is expected to offer affordable and seniors housing for the downtown core.

Before the rezoning was approved,the committee debated on the amount of parking required for a complex of that size, as well as Kaymic Developments request for less parking than required.

CurrentSudbury bylaws state that multi-unit dwellings must have a minimum of 1.5 parking spaces per unit.However, a 25 per cent parking reduction can be applied if there's an affordable housing agreement.

City councillor Geoff McCauslandsays other cities are moving toward less parking and more active transportation. He asked city staff to look into what other cities are doing for parking in multi-unit dwellings and make recommendations for parking solutions.

He addsthatregardless of parking, this apartment complex is needed in the downtown.

"What downtown Sudbury needs more than anything is people, people living in the area, walking the streets, eating at the restaurants, shopping at the stores." McCausland said.

"826 units would fast forward our downtown and our city in a serious way."

Councillor Al Sizeragreed, adding that more affordable and senior housing is something that residents in this city have been asking for for years.

"We need this housing both senior and affordable.We must support this."

"It gives us 826 units.It helps with our people living downtown.We talked about having people living in the downtown core will help the downtown businesses and rejuvenate the downtown, it fits that also," Sizer said.

Within a year, city staff will return to the planning committee with recommendations on parking.

All planning committee decisions must be approved by Greater Sudbury city council before projects can move ahead.