459 Mill St | 15, 21, 31, 40 and 44 fl | Proposed

[ac3r]

Polocorp Inc is proposing a mixed used community project at 459 Mill Street in Kitchener. The architectural work is by Neo Architecture.

Located directly adjacent to Mill Station, the development proposes a 6 building project consisting of a variety of buildings of various sizes and styles. The building heights are proposed to be 15, 14, 21, 27, 29 and 44 (Note: the plan for this project has been revised to include towers between 15 to 44 floors. It is unknown what the heights now are, except that the shortest would be 15 and tallest 44) floors sitting upon podiums. 1500 residential units in total are proposed (50 will be designated affordable units), 2,013 square meters of commercial space (on the ground floors), 2000 square feet for a community centre (with 250'000 dollars of funding committed over the course of 1 decade), 929 underground parking spaces (decoupled, allowing residents to decide whether they wish to have a space), 1300 (!) bicycle parking spaces and an on site car share service. A direct connection to the LRT station would provide easier access via the promenade. Private resident amenities would be featured on the top of the various building podiums. The exterior edges of the project would consist of significant green space and amenities (benches, fountains etc). The "interior" of the project would contain a promenade and a privately owned public plaza called Station Plaza, containing a fountain, public art and ice rink. The promenade would be open to vehicular traffic, but attempts would be made to minimize vehicles for the benefit of pedestrians.

[ac3r]

This is a gorgeous project for this location designed by one of the more reputable architecture firms we have in the region. We'll have to see how the public opinion is for this one. It's located next to a number of single family homes so there may be some expected opposition to the usual "issues" such as building height, traffic, shadows and so on. However, due to its location it falls within a PARTS plan area, so it's my hope that the City of Kitchener is more inclined to approve it as is without any reduction in building height or similar concessions.

I have a couple more renderings of the project on another computer of mine, but I left it in my office in Toronto so I won't be able to upload those for a while. If anyone else happens to have them, though, feel free to post them before I do!

[bravado]

This is the exact sort of thing I expected to appear near each LRT stop. I don't know how they're going to fit it into the property, so I am excited to see what they come up with.

[KevinL]

Do we know how many properties along Mill this would replace? Is it just the south side of the street? Is there a wider render showing context?

[ac3r]

Do we know how many properties along Mill this would replace? Is it just the south side of the street? Is there a wider render showing context?

It's to the north of the LRT station. As such, it would replace the industrial/commercial buildings and 6 houses.

This is the exact sort of thing I expected to appear near each LRT stop. I don't know how they're going to fit it into the property, so I am excited to see what they come up with.

It's a fairly large property, actually! Here's a screenshot of the general site plan as well as a satellite view for context:

[KevinL]

So everything east to Delta Elevator - a big slice! Good to see a solid pedestrian connection from the east end of the LRT too, will make links to Mill and Courtland easier.

[jwilliamson]

This looks like an amazing project. Hope it goes ahead.

[panamaniac]

This is a gorgeous project for this location designed by one of the more reputable architecture firms we have in the region. We'll have to see how the public opinion is for this one. It's located next to a number of single family homes so there may be some expected opposition to the usual "issues" such as building height, traffic, shadows and so on. However, due to its location it falls within a PARTS plan area, so it's my hope that the City of Kitchener is more inclined to approve it as is without any reduction in building height or similar concessions.

I have a couple more renderings of the project on another computer of mine, but I left it in my office in Toronto so I won't be able to upload those for a while. If anyone else happens to have them, though, feel free to post them before I do!

Has there been any pushback on the apartment building proposed for across the street on Pattandon?  I've not heard anything.

Industrial/several houses area on the south side of the Mill Station seems ripe for redevelopment too.  The site would be comparable in size to this one, I should think.

[cherrypark]

Please Kitchener, I beg of you, do not let this one go by. Looks like such a great proposal and the ideal build next to the LRT stop.

[panamaniac]

Please Kitchener, I beg of you, do not let this one go by. Looks like such a great proposal and the ideal build next to the LRT stop.

Stay calm.  It's a Polocorp proposal afterall ....

[Lebronj23]

You’d think if council held their same standard as Vic Park project this would also be rejected by default. 6 floors shorter yes but seems similar in size being 6 towers here. Also way outside the downtown core compared. Will be interesting to see their reaction to this although we might not have the neighbourhood associations coming for blood this time

[panamaniac]

You’d think if council held their same standard as Vic Park project this would also be rejected by default. 6 floors shorter yes but seems similar in size being 6 towers here. Also way outside the downtown core compared. Will be interesting to see their reaction to this although we might not have the neighbourhood associations coming for blood this time

Very different neighbourhoods (i.e. the residential component of Mill/Ottawa is lower middle/working class).  Proposal is literally at an ion station.  There may be issues (1500 units may be more that the City is prepared to contemplate; the affordable component seems weak and a public housing component would be a good addition), but I can't see neighbourhood complaints being decisive in this case.

[panamaniac]

By the way, this is inside the expressway, so "Urban", not "Suburban".

[ac3r]

By the way, this is inside the expressway, so "Urban", not "Suburban".

True. I wasn't too sure where to put it. This feels like one of those ambiguous locations where it's far enough from downtown that it doesn't seem to fit in the urban category. I suspect we'll never have a fully agreed upon categorization as to what is urban and what isn't in this region for a while haha.

[panamaniac]

I thought that the WRC convention was that inside the expressway = urban. If not, it should be.