Was the home of Kent Brewery. (Victoria Newman/XFM)
The corner of St. George Street at Ann Street might be home to some students in the future.
York Development wants to build a luxury student apartment complex at that corner. This proposal means the removal of five buildings including the Old Kent Brewery which is the current home of Williams Downtown Automotive Services.
Was the home of John Hamilton, owner of Kent Brewery. Now is an apartment complex. (Victoria Newman/XFM)
Kent Brewery was established in 1859. It was owned by John Hamilton from 1861 until he died in 1887. It was then owned by Joseph Hamilton, John Hamilton’s son, from 1887 until the brewery closed in 1917. Beside the brewery at 183 Ann Street is where John Hamilton lived. And beside that house, at 179 Ann Street, is where Joseph Hamilton lived.
“The brewing industry was one of the first thriving industries in London, and of course Labatt and Carling were both founded here. It’s an important part of our history and that building is part of that history,” said Kelley McKeating President of ACO London.
A heritage designation is being considered for this particular area as it has historical and cultural significance to the city. The brewery operated in the 1860’s and is a remnant of the Victorian era.
York Development wants to build a 22-storey building to house 214 residents on the site. Currently, there is a zoning restriction for that area. The zoning by-law only allows for four storey buildings that face St. George Street. The proposed apartment complex does not meet the current zoning restriction.
McKeating questions why the developer would buy the site.
“The house that I live in, the house that I bought when I moved to London is zoned to be a single-family home and there are limits on how tall it can be. And if I had wanted to tear down the house and build a ten-storey apartment building on that little lot, I know that that’s not allowed. It would never occur to me to ask. And I don’t quite understand why a developer knowing that this is zoned for two and a half storeys, I don’t understand why they would even bother to buy it,” she said.
This is one of the issues that the planning committee must consider in this case.
“I just don’t see a way of making a 22-storey building work on that site,” said McKeating. She highlighted how there were many other places that the apartment complex could have been placed as there are vacant parking lots.
Was the home of Joseph Hamilton, son of John Hamilton, and owner of Kent Brewery. (Victoria Newman/XFM)
That end of Ann Street is relatively modest with affordable housing which is important to have near the downtown core. It builds communities, allows people to be close to their work, it builds culture, and it makes it so people can have a place they afford to be close to things that are important to them.
She points out some issues with tall buildings. “You build this tall building and you’re going to have dozens potentially hundreds of people who lose their view of the sky, who lose their access to sunshine because there’s going to be this other building right outside their bedrooms and living room windows. And that seems unfair.”
It would also take away that sense of community within that area as it is taking out a section of a neighborhood.
The planning committee has delayed voting on this issue as York Developments is amending their application to try to incorporate some of the heritage elements.
There have been cases where heritage buildings have been incorporated into new developments. In this instance, it will be interesting to see how York plans to incorporate those heritage elements.
A meeting on this matter has been delayed without a specified date.
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