102 Fountain Street South (former Preston Springs Hotel) | 26, 24 & 22 fl | Proposed

[ac3r]

Good. Hopefully the OLT gives it the green light so I can watch Cambridge residents cope and seethe.

[westwardloo]

Who could have foreseen this coming? Most predictable outcome. Hope they ask for a height increase while they are at it. Would love for a developer to start showing how much this process has increased the price of each unit.

[bravado]

OLT sets hearings for October 2025 - I assume the housing crisis will either solved or the next generation will have moved away by then..

https://www.canlii.org/en/on/onlt/doc/20...26162.html

[14]      The Tribunal scheduled an 18-day Hearing to commence on Monday, October 6, 2025, at 10 a.m. by Video Hearing and ending on Friday, October 31, 2025. The Tribunal will not be sitting on Monday, October 13, 2025, and Tuesday, October 14, 2025.

[tomh009]

OLT sets hearings for October 2025 - I assume the housing crisis will either solved or the next generation will have moved away by then..

https://www.canlii.org/en/on/onlt/doc/20...26162.html

[14]      The Tribunal scheduled an 18-day Hearing to commence on Monday, October 6, 2025, at 10 a.m. by Video Hearing and ending on Friday, October 31, 2025. The Tribunal will not be sitting on Monday, October 13, 2025, and Tuesday, October 14, 2025.

18 days of hearings!

[bravado]

https://www.cambridgetoday.ca/local-news...s-11577444

Overturned by the OLT just in time for the condo market to implode!

The Ontario Land Tribunal has sided with Haastown Holdings in its appeal of a council decision that rejected a three-tower condominium project at the intersection of Fountain Street South and King Street West in Preston.

The Richmond Hill-based developer can now proceed with its plan to build the towers, 22, 20 and 17 storeys tall, at the site of the former heritage hotel demolished in December 2020.

The project to construct 635 units over a shared parking podium with access to Fountain and Abraham streets is expected to move ahead unimpeded following the Dec. 3 decision.

...

The OLT's decision dismisses both a council-adopted zoning bylaw amendment that sought to reduce intensification on the site by limiting the height and number of towers, and an appeal by neighbouring resident Glen Nyhus that challenged the proposed density.

The OLT didn't like the council imposed limits on building height and density, saying it would result in slab buildings less compatible with the surrounding neighbourhood than what was proposed.

...

Most of what the OLT approved for the project aligns with what city staff recommended happen in 2024, including building height, setbacks and access.

Coun. Scott Hamilton, the sole council vote against the "surprise" council amendments that emerged from the 2024 meeting to deny the project, said in an email he was concerned then about the mayor and council going ahead with that without consulting staff, architects, planners or the region.

"I felt that, not only was this process bound to fail at the OLT, but the city set a very dangerous precedent to developers considering Cambridge for their projects," he wrote.

He said the decision suggests "the rug could be pulled out from under them when they were inches away from the finish line."

"This is dangerous to our economy, and to the future of our housing stock. We need clear procedures, frameworks, and to build trust and confidence," he said.

Not only that, but "the city lost an opportunity to collaborate with the developer, and shape a project that benefits Preston, the local economy, and the city as a whole," he wrote. 

[ac3r]

I've joked that Cambridge would vote against allowing the world's greatest children's hospital being built and once again they come in clutch to prove to everyone they're a bunch of clueless amateurs.

A lot who will get reelected...yikes.