- $37K approved to complete servicing studies
that will be made available to proponents -
by Sylene Argent, Local Journalism Initiative
Council for the Town of Essex supported in principle the inclusion of an affordable housing target of 20% in the soon-to-be-issued Request for Proposal (RFP) for the former Harrow High School redevelopment, with consideration being made as unfinished business at a future meeting.
That decision was made during a special meeting held on the matter Monday evening.
Mayor Sherry Bondy asked Council to think about approving that in principle, to provide time to collect public feedback. It will also give Town staff a chance to do some additional research and provide answers to any questions Council members may have had on the matter.
Council also approved $37,000 as a post-budget approval for costs incurred for the servicing studies that will be made available to proponents, which will be funded from the proceeds received from the final sale of the property.
In February, Council directed Town staff to prepare an RFP to seek proposals from interested developers to purchase and redevelop the former school footprint for future high-density residential, after Administration outlined the current condition of the facility, with potential budget costs and options for the property.
The Town purchased the former Harrow High School property from the GECDSB in late 2021 for $845,900, after it decided to close the school in 2015. It has sat vacant since June of 2016.
In 2022, $60,000 was set aside to assess the facility to have a better understanding of the costs that would be required to transform the facility into a usable centre for public occupancy.
It was estimated it would cost over $10M to convert the facility to a recreation centre.
Bondy noted at the time the intention was to sell the Harrow High footprint, not the entirety of the property.
Back in February, Essex CAO Doug Sweet noted Administration would come back to Council regarding the percentage of the defined affordable housing desired as part of the RFP.
Since that time, Administration has been completing pre-studies on the property in order to provide interested developers with as much information as possible regarding the current state of the lands, Sweet added.
Once Administration is provided with the affordable housing percent, the RFP could be ready to be issued in a few weeks.
In the Town of Essex Official Plan, high-density residential means achieving a minimum density of 32 units per acre. With the Harrow High School footprint being around 3.4 acres, that would mean the minimum density for this site would be 109 units.
With a 20% affordable housing unit rate, that would require this footprint to offer 22 affordable housing units.
The Town will require a shared access area to the subject site and surrounding municipal property.
A maximum permitted building height for this site would be six-storeys.
Part of the process, Sweet added, will be to have public consultation on potential proposals prior to any decision being made on potential development on these lands.
Director of Planning Services, Lori Chadwick, explained high-density residential is currently not permitted on the site.
Town staff is proposing a redesignation in the New Official Plan to Urban Residential, Chadwick explained. It is designated as a community service facility in the Official Plan, and the current Zoning By-Law has it classed as Institutional I.2.
That would be a public process requiring a meeting, and perhaps an open house prior to that public meeting, at Council discretion, Chadwick added.
“That Zoning would be site-specific, dependent on the preferred proposal,” she said.
The Town is also proposing to undertake that rezoning to align with that preferred proposal at no cost to the developer. It will give the option to the developer to purchase and develop the site for high-density residential. The developer, Chadwick added, may reuse the existing building or demolish it for new construction.
The development may include neighbourhood commercial uses, complementary to the residential uses. That could include a convenient store, for instance.
The development could entail ownership and/or rental units.
Under the Essex County and Town of Essex Official Plans, in addition to the Provincial Policy Statement, affordable housing is defined as the least expensive of the result of a purchase price in an annual accommodation cost/or rent that does not exceed 30% of gross annual household income; or the purchase price is at least 10% below the average purchase price of a resale unit or where rent is at or below the average market rent in the regional market area.
The mean annual household income in Harrow is $81,000, meaning the low income is around $40,500. That translates to $12,150 annually or $1012 or below per month.
Moderate income in Harrow is considered to be $65,000 or below. That translates accommodation costs including utilities to be between $12,000 and $19,000 annually.
The current Official Plan requires 20% of new housing to be affordable.
Other terms in the RPF Town staff recommended include achieving reduction in energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions, Chadwick added.
Ineligible proposals for the RFP include an emergency shelter, crisis care centre, or transitional housing.
In terms of incorporating the servicing studies into the RFP, Manager of Capital Works and Asset Management, David McBeth, said that could provide for the potential of more competitive bids as it could minimize their risk in having the background information.
The studies to be provided to the proponents include a designated substance report building condition review, geotechnical report, phase one and two environmental site assessments, and water/wastewater/stormwater functional service study.
Stantec Consulting completed a functional servicing study, McBeth noted.
In terms of sanitary, assuming there are no pump station upgrades, 45 people could be accommodated at the site. The pump stations do need to eventually be upgraded, McBeth said. When they are, up to 758 individuals can be accommodated. The Harrow Lagoon Pumping Station requires upgrades to accommodate minimum units and improve wet weather flows. The estimated cost is $290,000 and will be included in the 2025 Capital Budget.
With the average daily demand of water, around 315 people can be accommodated, McBeth said.
So, theoretically, the development could hold 315 individuals without major upgrades, aside from the pumping station.
In terms of next steps, Administration will finalize the RFP, release it, leave it open for a minimum of three-months, then close it. At that time, staff will review the proposals before it is brought forward to Council for consideration, Kate Giurissevich, Director of Corporate Services, noted.
Deputy Mayor Rob Shepley asked about including a timeline to demo the building if it will not be utilized, so it does not sit bare.
That could be added, Sweet noted.
Councillors Joe Garon and Katie McGuire-Blais expressed concern with the cost of the pump station and how it would relate to the potential developer.
Giurissevich explained there can be a cost-sharing agreement. She will look to try to cover it through Development Charges. A portion of water rates will also be able to be put towards the pumping house.
Garon and McGuire-Blais also had questions on how the 20% of affordable housing units can be maintained in the long-term, as units get resold or re-rented out in the future, and how that can be tracked.
Giurissevich noted it is up to the Town of Essex to monitor that. This is a learning curve. The municipality does have a tool to try to encourage the use of the units continue to be affordable. That includes recovery of the Development Charges that would be waived for those units through a legal agreement, for instance.
In answering Councillor Jason Matyi’s question on how it is determined who would get one of the affordable units, Sweet noted it would be up to the developer to determine the criteria.