麻豆精选 council is less than impressed with plans for a rental apartment building on the site where a heritage building once stood in Rutland.
The Sproul farmhouse, which sat at the corner of Highway 33 and Sadler Road, was heavily damaged by fire in 2020.
At a public hearing Tuesday (July 12), several councillors criticized the development for a lack of acknowledgement to heritage and little amenity space.
鈥淚鈥檓 not fond of how we鈥檝e nodded to the heritage aspect,鈥� said Coun. Loyal Wooldridge. 鈥淲e鈥檝e heard numerous times from heritage consultants that we shouldn鈥檛 try and replicate what was there in new form.鈥�
The development at 145 Sadler Road is a five-storey, mixed-use building with 86 residential and two commercial units. It includes heritage murals and interpretive panels about Sproul House, as well as a bay window salvaged from the fire that will be used on the facade of the new building and feature a model of the farmhouse.
鈥淚 like the general design,鈥� said Mayor Colin Basran. 鈥淏ut the heritage aspect is a big miss for me.鈥�
Coun. Charlie Hodge was the only councillor to vote against moving the project forward.
鈥淲e are a world-class community and I expect world-class type designs. It doesn鈥檛 wow me.鈥�
Despite criticism of the development, several councillors spoke about the need for rental units in the city.
鈥淚t鈥檚 nice to see some densification of our town centre of Rutland,鈥� said Coun. Luke Stack. 鈥淲e鈥檝e been looking for that for a long time.鈥�
Council has approved rezoning the property to allow the project to move ahead.
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@GaryBarnes109
gary.barnes@kelownacapnews.com
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