Builder optimistic CN appeal over Jamesville project can be resolved

A builder planning to demolish vacant CityHousing townhouses for a mixed-income redevelopment is holding out hope that Canadian National Railway will drop its project-stalling appeal.

Fram Building Group is part of a private consortium that has partnered with CityHousing and non-profit Indwell on the long-planned 447-unit Jamesville project near the West Harbour GO station.

Fram president Frank Giannone says a case management conference on June 29 before the Ontario Land Tribunal could reopen the door to talks and a potential resolution, averting a full-blown hearing. over the redevelopment along James Street North.

Optimistically, we're looking at not going to have to get to a full appeal on it," Giannone said. But we're preparing ourselves for it."

CityHousing started vacating 91 subsidized townhomes on the site as early as 2015 to clear the way for 160 affordable units in two seven-storey buildings between it and Indwell. The rest of the planned homes in the redevelopment are market-rate stacked townhouses.

City council approved the project last year, but CN appealed that zoning decision to the provincial tribunal in September, citing a potential conflict" with its bayfront shunting yard on Stuart Street, which is less than 300 metres away.

CN hasn't responded to The Spectator's questions, but in its appeal letter, the rail giant's lawyer noted her client's concerns revolve around safety, odour, vibration and noise.

However, it's CN's desire to resolve outstanding issues without the need for a contested hearing, and we welcome the opportunity for further discussions" with the city.

Giannone said the sticking point is how loud, crashing noises in the shunting yard could affect the future development's residents. But many homes sit closer to the yard than the roughly 2.1-hectare Jamesville property between James, MacNab, Ferrie and Strachan, he suggested.

What are you going to tell those people?"

In an email, CityHousing development manager Sean Botham told The Spectator the municipal housing provider and the project team are continuing to work with CN towards resolving the appeal," noting the parties last met in mid-February.

They had a good meeting," Giannone said, adding the developer presented a study with recommendations to mitigate the concerns over acoustics that CN was to examine. They haven't done that yet, and that's why we've had to at least schedule the (tribunal) process."

In the meantime, with demolition now halted pending the outcome of the appeal, residents have expressed outrage over the derelict Jamesville townhouses already sitting empty for years during a housing crisis.

That's a problem to avoid in future development projects the city pursues, says Cameron Kroetsch, the area's new councillor.

The idea of emptying all the folks out of Jamesville before we even had some of the things in place, I think, has also been part of the problem."

He also contends the city may have missed an opportunity to head off the appeal when CN raised concerns with the municipality in 2021.

Nonetheless, Kroetsch, who's a CityHousing board member, likewise expressed optimism that talks could avert a long dispute before the tribunal.

I don't see this being stalled for years over an appeal. I just don't see it," he said, noting the redevelopment is a high-profile project that many support.

Moreover, previous CN appeals over other local projects, including the Witton Lofts on Murray Street and the city's Barton-Tiffany development plans, ended without protracted hearings, Kroetsch noted. Giannone also cites those two examples and a more recent CN appeal in Vaughan as relevant.

In the east end, a similar CityHousing partnership with private developers that also involved the razing of townhouses to build a denser, mixed-income community is under construction.

In April, tenants started moving into a new CityHousing building in the area just north of Queenston Road near the Red Hill Valley Parkway.

The Jamesville delay is frustrating, especially given the importance of building the affordable CityHousing and Indwell units, Giannone lamented. It's meeting the core needs of the community."

In fact, the consortium, had hoped to start construction a year and a half ago, but the COVID-19 pandemic upended those plans, he said. And if the project hadn't been appealed, we would have probably been on sale now."

Teviah Moro is a reporter at The Spectator. tmoro@thespec.com