Kingston, Ont. council approves settlement for highrise apartment building
Global News
Council approved this settlement with a split decision, much to the dismay of one local resident group that opposes the project.
The big-ticket item on council’s agenda Tuesday night was the decision surrounding a settlement for a 15-storey highrise apartment building at Queen and Barrie streets.
Council was fairly split on the issue, but councillors who are in favour of the development shared why the project could help the city.
“First off, Kingston needs housing of all kinds,” Coun. Wendy Stephen said in Tuesday’s meeting.
“Yes, we absolutely need affordable housing, but we also need market rentals just like these. It’s not one or the other, it’s both.”
Council ended up approving the motion, with three councillors opposed.
Members of the Friends of Queen Street Kingston expected the vote to go this way, but they are still discouraged by the result.
“We’re highly disappointed,” says Lea Westlake, the group’s president.
“Friends of Queen Street is not against intensifying Queen Street; we’d like to see reasonable intensification. We strongly believe that this proposal is not that.”