Owen Sound city council has given the green light to a new hotel, restaurant and retail developments proposed in the city's east side.
Council voted to grant conditional approval at its meeting Monday to a zoning bylaw amendment and site plan for Heritage Grove Centre, the 16th Street East plaza that houses Winners, Homesense and other retailers, for further buildout at the property.
Owen Sound has resumed regular meetings with only the mayor and two councillors present at city hall, while the remainder of councillors connect through video conferencing.
A four-storey, 75 to 100 room hotel and four commercial buildings with nine units, six for restaurants and three for retail, are proposed. One of the restaurant units will have an outdoor patio, while another will feature a drive-thru.
Construction work is already underway at the north side of the 16th Street East property. Crews have been working to prepare the lands for development in recent months.
Owen Sound Mayor Ian Boddy calls the approval good news.
“The developers continue to be prepared to move ahead,” Boddy explains. “As soon as this is done and they can get to construction they'll get there.”
A public meeting was held in August 2019 for the proposed development, when one objector spoke — a planning services consultant representing a client with interest in vacant lands directly north of the Heritage Grove subject lands — the Branningham Grove Development.
Lorelie Spencer — of Spencer Planning Services — told councillors then there are existing retail commercial zoned lands that exist there, and the applicant has ownership in that site.
She urged consideration be given to the presence of nearby commercial services close to the proposed development, including five gas stations and seven large scale restaurants, and Heritage Place Mall.
The site plan proposal approved varies from what was detailed at the August public meeting by a planning consultant on the Heritage Grove application, who said then the application would change to include only four restaurant units.