Sunrise seniors’ project moving in

BY ANDY BLATCHFORD



Public uproar over a seniors’ residence proposal quelled as Beaconsfield residents allowed the development to move forward earlier this month.

A high-end 96-unit home will soon sit on part of the rolling hills of the former Fresh Meadows Golf Course. Construction of the American-owned, two-storey building could start anytime, Mayor Bob Benedetti said.

In June, more than 200 residents weighed in during a tumultuous public gathering at the Beaconsfield Recreation Centre, where representatives of Sunrise Senior Living presented the project. Support within the room was divided. At the meeting, residents decried the loss of green space frequented by dog walkers and cross-country skiers, increased traffic and construction close to the nearby Angell Woods. For years, the 100-year-old forest and adjacent land has been under the threat of development.

To enable Sunrise to build the project, the city’s council moved to change the zoning from commercial to residential. The motion passed with a vote of 5-2 from councillors.

Last month, residents signed up to trigger a register in an effort to block the project. However, no one signed the Nov. 9 register, according to Beaconsfield city clerk Johanne Legault. Benedetti said the citizens’ change of heart was spurred by a motion passed at the October council meeting. Council passed a notice that would rezone city-owned land next to the project, which is currently zoned for a future road, to park land. Nearby residents on Sydney Cunningham were concerned a street would be built behind their homes, he said. But Sunrise’s proposal does not call for the street, he added.

“I think it’s a great idea,� he said of the Sunrise development. “Right from the beginning I felt that this was a perfect project for Beaconsfield.�

Bendetti said the developer’s plans call for a “classy� building and he doesn’t expect traffic to increase in the area. In a swap, the city will obtain property to the west of the project, which will be rezoned park land and create a buffer between the residence and Angell Woods, he said.Additional tax revenue from the development will shave half a cent per $100 of evaluation for resident, Benedetti predicted. “It doesn’t sound like a lot, but it means on the average house it’s $20 a year forever,� he said.

Sunrise owns an adjacent property north of the home’s future Elm Avenue site. The land’s zoning allows for three-storey residential and could eventually become phase two of the project, Benedetti added.

But the developer’s second phase may not call for a three-storey building, said local councillor David Pollock, who voted against the project. “Apparently (Sunrise) offered only to build a two-storey building there and to permit the city to rezone that officially,� he said. “I think the residents were favourable to that news as well.�

He said concerns over added traffic at the Woodland Avenue crossing remain, but the city and developer addressed several issues to make it more palatable for citizens on Sydney Cunningham.“Certainly there are people who would have liked to see that lot remain as an open field and wooded area, however, I think most people feel the Sunrise project going there will be better than the alternative that could have gone there if it would have stayed a commercial zone,� Pollock said.