Developer says proposed 21-storey building will be a 'gateway,' but councillor says it’s unrealistic

A London developer is proposing a new mixed-use high-rise apartment building near Western University, just off one of the city’s busiest roads.

KAP Holdings Inc. has submitted a planning application to replace the current four residential houses at the corner of Richmond and Epworth streets, with a 21-storey apartment building.

“This location is very important in London because it’s the gateway to the university,” said developer Arnon Kaplansky, adding the development will be aptly called The Gateway.

If approved, the building will contain 119 two-floor residential units, Kaplansky said, all of which are meant to be shared accommodations between student roommates or families.

Kaplansky said The Gateway will also have a common entertainment space on the building’s first floor and a 57-space parking lot. Planned with students in mind, it’s close to several major bus stops and just a few-minute walk from Western’s main gates.

“It’s shared accommodation, which is the new trend because of the cost of housing and the economic traffic jam here,” he said, adding that he thinks the proposed building will also change the surrounding Broughdale neighbourhood for the better.

“I believe that this building will help bring back single-family houses to regular families and not students. By concentrating students in that block, it will help the rest of the neighbourhood,” Kaplansky said.

However, the area’s ward councillor Sam Trosow argues the development is unrealistic.

“This proposal is nowhere near close to what is feasible right now,” Trosow said. “I think this proposal is premature and a lot more thought needs to be given to how the infrastructure in the area is going to develop before this.”

Trosow said one of his major concerns about the building plan is the number of people that could be living in each unit.

Some of his concerns include the nearby water main’s capacity and increased traffic, especially as a new eight-storey residence building is already being built on University Drive, just kitty corner to KAP Holdings Inc.’s new proposal.

“There's already a bottleneck at that intersection. There's going to be a worse bottleneck at that intersection when the dormitory comes into operation, and there's going to be a much worse bottleneck at that intersection if we increase the capacity of the subject property,” Trosow said.

Without a lay-by listed in the building’s current plan, Trosow said he also expects there to be safety concerns if ride-share and food delivery drivers stop on Richmond Street while waiting for residents.

“I think it’s a disaster and safety hazard waiting to happen,” he said.

Kaplansky has been active with building proposals near the university for years, most recently with a plan to redevelop a set of buildings near Broughdale Avenue into a 70-bedroom townhouse complex for students.

He said he is familiar with hearing council and community pushback, and expects the same this time around.

“It’s the same argument all the time: it’s too tall, it’s too high, it’s too dense, it’s too many students. I’m pretty sure the councillor in the area will oppose it, but hopefully the rest of the council will see the value in it,” he said.

The president of the Broughdale Community Association, Susan Bentley, said that while she and her neighbours have been expecting planning applications for the area, she was surprised by the proposed height of Kaplansky’s.

“We understand that there’s a housing crisis, so we were prepared for these kinds of applications, but this one was a bit of a shock,” Bentley said, adding that the community has already had to adapt to construction of the Western residence.

“The site is occupied by four student residences at the present time, so the use is not going to change, it’s just going to be a much more dense version of the same kind of building. In those terms, I don’t think there’s any objection to the use of the building or who’s likely to occupy it,” she said.

“The one thing that the community association has tried to do is try to keep some balance. Just be friendly to your neighbours – be they students or long-term residents, and get along and be respectful,” Bentley said.

Kaplansky said he plans to meet with the community sometime in November to hear their thoughts.

The proposal is expected to go before the city’s Planning and Environment Committee on Dec. 2.