An 11-storey apartment building on the grounds of a former school in Brantford is not a good fit for the neighborhood, many residents say.
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The apartment building, coupled with a townhouse complex and redevelopment of the historic school, would bring far too many people to the area. It would cause traffic and parking problems and put a strain on existing infrastructure say those opposed to the plan.
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At issue is a plan to redevelop the former Victoria School property at the corner of Richmond and Albion streets into a housing development.
The proposal calls for an “adaptive reuse” of the former school to create 22 residential units. It also calls for construction of an 11-storey, 199-unit apartment building and 24 back-to-back townhouses on the site. It was presented to residents at a pre-application public meeting held by the proponents, MHBC (MacNaughton Hermsen, Britton Clarkson Planning Ltd.) and 40 Richmond GP Ltd., at a public meeting held Wednesday (April 3) at the Polish Hall on Pearl Street.
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The meeting was held by the developer to garner public input prior to submitting zoning and official plan amendments.
“This is completely out-of-character with the neighborhood,” Bill Darfler, a long-time William Street resident, said. “This is one of the oldest neighborhood’s in Brantford and there isn’t any house or building that high around here.
“Right now, I can see Victoria School from my house.”
Ken Thompson, another resident, said the former school should be turned into a retirement home, something that would benefit the community.
Chad Martin, co-chair of the Brantford Station Neighborhood Association, said there are a lot of concerns and questions about the proposal.
But one of the benefits is the relocation of the existing Robert Moore Park at 115 Albion St. to 22 Sydenham St., Martin said.
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The neighborhood will be getting a much bigger park that could include splash pads, event space, room for a skating rink in the winter and a community garden.
“That’s exciting for us because we’re going to be getting a big, beautiful park and that’s something that we haven’t had in decades,” Martin said.
City council in November 2023 approved the relocation after discovering that one-third of the park, thought to be owned by city, was in fact privately-owned.
The city then proceeded to sell the remaining two-thirds of the existing park to help with the development of the new park.
The property at 22 Sydenham is a former brownfield that has been cleaned up following a spate of fires back in the late 1990s and early 2000s in abandoned buildings on the site.
Victoria School meanwhile, closed in 2002 but its name lives on through a consolidation of the area with Graham Bell School. Since then it has been home to Grand Erie Learning Alternatives, served as a satellite campus for Brantford Collegiate Institute and was home to Victoria Academy, a private school that has since closed.
The building is not boarded up and not in use.
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