It’s goodbye to the long-standing Port Elgin Cinema building on Goderich Street adjacent to the Dr. Earl Medical Clinic, as the property was recently sold.
A Site Plan submitted by 10127426 Canada Inc. to the Planning Committee of Council proposes a six-storey, mixed use building with ground floor office/retail space and 68 apartment units above.
The proponent has designed the mixed-use building using materials that complement and feature elements from neighbouring buildings. The proposed façade, for example, uses the same material colouring as the Carnegie library, although the library is two blocks away. Staff will continue to work with the proponent to continue to refine the materials.
Although height of new buildings within downtown areas should be similar in height to neighbouring buildings, preferably with a maximum of a one-storey height difference between adjacent buildings, the six-storey building is four stories above the adjacent two story building.
Mayor Luke Charbonneau asked if the building could be ‘stepped back’ a storey. Jay Pausner, Supervisor of Development for the Town, said that where greater height changes are proposed, they should be mitigated with stepbacks, architectural detailing, or the treatment of the roofline and that he would discuss it with the architect.
Parking is to be provided under the building with additional surface parking on the north side of the building. Staff are also working with the proponent to enhance the landscaping and buffering of the two-storey residential apartment immediately to the south of the property.
