The province wants to give Distrikt Developments the green light to build 11 towers in the 50-storey range in Midtown Oakville, bypassing local opposition to the proposals.
The buildings, clustered across four properties north of the Oakville GO station, have been the subject of town discussion – and public controversy – for two years.
Local residents – stunned by the possibility that a roughly one square kilometre area could soon be home to thousands of new residents – have pushed back against what they believe is too many people, in too little space, with too few services and amenities.
Since last spring, town council has been signalling its intent to move toward a lower rise vision for the Midtown area. An April hearing before the Ontario Land Tribunal (OLT) was scheduled to decide the fate of the Distrikt applications.
Read more here: Town council topples tall tower plan; OLT hearing scheduled for 58 storey Midtown towers
But now the provincial government appears set to allow the developer to build exactly what it wants, with only a few minor changes to the proposed heights of some specific towers.
How did we get here?
At the end of May, the Ontario Ministry of Infrastructure informed the town that it was exploring a potential Transit Oriented Communities (TOC) project within Oakville.
Through the TOC program, the province negotiates with developers to build densely populated, mixed-use developments around transit hubs like GO and subway stations.
A confidentiality agreement forced on the town limited what residents could be told as discussions were ongoing.
But on November 14, the province publicly released its Midtown TOC plan.
The plan covers about five hectares – or the area of about seven soccer fields of land – in the middle of the approximately 48 hectares of developable land in Midtown.
It would allow Distrikt to build 11 towers, ranging in height from 46 to 58 storeys, between the GO station and the highway.
The four land parcels along Cross Avenue, Argus Road and South Service Road currently hold a hotel and three commercial plazas. Building would take place in four phases and is expected to take 12 to 15 years to complete.
The plan includes:
- A combined 6,908 residential units (about 600 more than Distrikt had applied for)
- About 50,000 square metres of retail and office space, including “a potential daycare, and a community-oriented facility,” providing 550 new jobs in the vicinity of the GO station.
- A combined 7,565 square metres of privately-owned publicly accessible open spaces, typically provided as courtyards or green spaces atop underground parking garages.
- Underground parking, with 4,761 vehicular spaces
- Spots to park 7,055 bicycles
“It would also increase transit access and connectivity by optimizing street connections to improve mobility via the re-alignment of Cross Avenue and Argus Road, and the introduction of new north-south and east-west roads creating a comprehensive urban grid network for Midtown Oakville,” says the province, according to their website.
"Flabbergasted" to see province partnering with developer
The proposal angers local residents, who have spent years working with the town to create a vision for the entire Midtown area.
The Oakville Community Association (OCA), a citizen group that was set to express its concerns with the Distrikt proposals as a participant in the planned OLT hearing, issued a press release saying it was “flabbergasted” that the province is essentially partnering with the developer.
The provincial plan will “result in a development opposed by the majority of Oakville residents due to environmental concerns, tall buildings, high density, severe traffic congestion, the significant cost of infrastructure and unanswered questions as to who will be paying the cost,” it adds.
Representatives from the community coalition group We Love Oakville warn of the impact of adding about 12,000 new residents into an area with no infrastructure to accommodate them.
“It’s going to ruin Oakville as we know it,” says George Niblock, president of the Oakville Lakeside Residents Association and a spokesperson for the coalition.
He points to the already overburdened road network around the Trafalgar Road and QEW junction.
“We’re not going to be able to get around. We don’t have any infrastructure in place for it. Putting infrastructure in place would cost hundreds and hundreds of millions of dollars and there’s no plan for it.”
Niblock says residents' groups are supportive of development in Midtown but want to see planning for reasonable density and complete communities.
He adds that residents are angry with the lack of transparency in the process that has led to this provincial plan. “We’ve never seen anything of this size happen here before and it’s being done in the backrooms.”
'Mega-density resulting in overcrowding'
Ward 3 councillor Janet Haslett-Theall also thinks decisions about how Oakville develops should be made locally.
“We know our town and our needs,” she said, noting that council has made significant progress on establishing a vision for a new, livable Oakville neighbourhood in Midtown.
She added that planning for that neighbourhood needs to establish rules and a vision for the entire area, not just five hectares of it.
Allowing nearly 12,000 residents on the Distrikt lands could open the door to more than 90,000 people in Midtown, if other developers seek to build as tall and densely, Haslett-Theall also warns.
“The proposed TOC density can only be described as mega-density resulting in overcrowding. How is this scale and intensity liveable or appropriate?”
We Love Oakville is urging residents to take part in a letter-writing campaign to oppose the TOC plan for Midtown.
“We need a groundswell of support to let the province know that this is unacceptable for Oakville, and that they need to course correct,” said Niblock.
The province has announced a virtual engagement session (Dec. 10) and an in-person engagement session (Dec. 12) for offering feedback on the TOC plan. Full details are expected on its website in the future.
What is proposed?
217 Cross Avenue & 571 Argus Road (expected to be constructed first)
Building heights: 46, 52 and 59 storeys
Residential: 1,989 units
Open space: 2,582 square metres of open space
Retail/Office space: 4,259 square metres
157-165 Cross
Building heights: 50 and 58 storeys
Residential: 1,222 units
Open space: 635 square metres
Retail/Office space: 3,538 square metres
166 South Service Road
Building heights: 48, 50 and 54 storeys
Residential: 1,853 units
Open space: 1,926 square metres
Retail/Commercial Space: 6,189 square metres
590 Argus
Building heights: 47, 50 and 55-storeys
Residential: 1,856 units
Open space: 2,418 square metres
Retail/Office/Daycare Space: 2,477 square metres