Burlington condo battle on the rise

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The two sides in a Burlington condo battle are now arguing their cases in front of Ontario’s Municipal Board. The city rejected the 26-storey project as too big, but in Ontario, municipalities often don’t have the final say.

ADI Developments says it’s planning 5000 new units in Burlington over the next five years or so, including a couple hundred in the condo tower it wants to build at Martha and Lakeshore. Even though the building hasn’t been approved, it’s 85% sold out.

“We’re having huge success. We’re selling developments like hotcakes at record prices. And that’s a function of the price of a single family home being completely unattainable. It’s $1.3 million for a single family home in Burlington today. That’s crazy.” said Tariq Adi.

Adi keeps an old photo of the parking lot in his desk; he says the idea was sparked long before this $200 million project began. Since his youth he’s envisioned a more intensely populated, more vibrant downtown.

“We need feet on the street. You talk to any of the local businesses they tell you, six months of the year, we’re dead.” said Burlington city councillor Marianne Mead Ward.

But the city says 26 storeys is too tall for a small parcel of land.

“So staff rejected it, city council twice unanimously rejected it, and overwhelmingly, I’ve had hundreds and hundreds of contacts from residents opposed to this.”

Half of the block is owned by another developer, Carriage Gate Homes. They were initially registered in opposition to this project, but this morning a lawyer for the developer told the Ontario Municipal Board they’d changed positions. They’re now in favour of this building.

The developers negotiated land amongst themselves, and Carriage Gate told the Ontario Municipal Board it hopes the ADI project will be approved, so that its eventual development application will be approved. Carriage Gate recently applied to put a 27-storey condo building across from City Hall. ADI says his project is spurring other development.

“Our planners are making a hell of an argument and the city is going to have a tough tough time defending that.”

The province is currently reviewing the role of the Ontario Municipal Board and Marianne Meed Ward thinks it should have far less power. She says the democratic process has been subverted , when the decisions are taken out of the hands of elected officials.