“We’re still negotiating,” said Ron Starr, president of development at Deanlee Management.

The company is looking at building about 650 condominium and townhouse units on the 9.6 hectares (24 acres) brow land along Sanatorium Road, north of Scenic Drive, that it purchased from the Chedoke Health Corporation more than three years ago.

As many as half of those units will be aimed at retirees with prices starting at about $250,000 and up.

The wood lot on the east side of the property has been deemed an environmentally sensitive area and will not be developed.

Starr said he feels the development plan needs a little more tweaking to satisfy city planners and he’s optimistic the project can go before the economic development and planning committee in June.

“We do not want to go to the OMB (Ontario Mu n i c i p a l Board) on this,” said Starr, who noted the uniqueness of the project has led to numerous discussions and communications with city planners.

Starr said Deanlee Management has addressed capacity concerns about the on-site storm water management pond that was raised by the Hamilton Conservation Authority.

The Niagara Escarpment Commission also raised concerns about the 10-storey building slated for the middle of the site, but Starr said he feels the consultants report provided by Deanlee proves the building will not have a negative impact on the area.

The 64-year-old Starr is no stranger to municipal politics.

He was a city councilor in Mississauga in 1979-80 and has registered to run for a second time against former Liberal MP Carolyn Parrish in Mississauga’s Ward 6.

By Mark Newman
Mountain News Aug 08, 2008

When Deanlee Management submits its final draft plan for Chedoke brow land development to the city in the next few weeks it could contain fewer then the 750 units the Mississauga developer had originally proposed.

“It could vary any place from 600 to 750 (units), but we don’t think the 750 is something that we’re going to push simply because I think, given some of the market studies we’ve done, we’ve seen people want larger units,” said Ron Starr, president of development at Deanlee.

After reviewing comments from city planning officials and agencies such as the Niagara Escarpment Commission about the proposal that was given to the city in June 2007, Mr. Starr said Deanlee filed revised conceptual drawings of the proposed development north of Scenic Drive with the city’s planning department about three weeks ago.

Mr. Starr said the company is now in the process of refining those drawings after hearing back from city planners and some agencies and he expects a final draft plan to go to the city in the next few weeks. He’s hoping to get approval from the economic development and planning committee in mid September which would allow the development to go forward.

Deanlee purchased the 9.6 hectare (24 acre) brow lands from the Chedoke Health Corporation in the spring of 2007, with the sale slated to close in December. The developer is also looking to close Sanatorium Road north of Scenic and make it a private condo road.

Under the revamped proposal, Deanlee is looking to build an eight to 10 storey condominium building and a couple of six to eight storey buildings at the centre of the property. The four to six storey condo buildings proposed for the northwest side of the property and on either side of Sanatorium Road just north of Scenic are retained from the earlier proposal.

The two to three storey condo town houses planned along Scenic Drive west of Sanatorium Road have been reworked so it won’t look like row housing.

“It’ll look like a very, very large house, but with multiple units in it,” Mr. Starr said.

In addition, Deanlee is looking to build a three to five storey condo building in front of the wood lot on the east side of the site. The wood lot is expected to be turned over to the city for preservation.

The high end condos are expected to sell for upwards of $300,000.

Mr. Starr said the green space near the centre of the property that includes the storm water management pond will be expanded.

NEC concerns

In a Jan. 7 report responding to the city’s request for comments on the project, the Niagara Escarpment Commission said Deanlee did not submit enough documents to determine whether the development was acceptable under the Niagara Escarpment Planning and Development Act and recommended the city refuse the developer’s application until additional information to satisfy the requirements of the Act were submitted.

NEC planner Martin Kilian said the proposal must comply with section 1.7 of the Act which, in part, the states: “All development should be of an urban design compatible with the visual and natural environment of the Escarpment.”

Essentially, Mr. Kilian said, that means when someone looks up from the base of the Escarpment they will see natural features rather then tall buildings.

Mr. Kilian added the NEC is also concerned that Deanlee is considering too many tall buildings too close to the brow.

“We’re not saying they are, we’re saying they might be,” Mr. Kilian said.

The NEC has asked Deanlee to provide a visual assessment of their proposal. Mr. Starr said that has been done and that report is included as part of the revamped proposal that has been submitted to the city. It will be circulated to commenting agencies such as the NEC.

In its earlier comments the NEC said the 30 meter set-back (from the brow) proposed for the development should be the minimum setback should the existing brow building be demolished.

Mr. Starr feels Deanlee has addressed the NEC’s concerns. He noted the tallest building on the site will be at least 200 metres from the Mountain brow and the brown and green buildings they are planning to build on the property should blend in well with the existing landscape.

“From the ground you can’t see this project,” Mr. Starr said. “With…the visualization and the angle and the right facade treatment, I challenge people once the project is done to find it from many miles out.”

All of the existing buildings on the site, with the exception of the Long and Bisby building, currently home to a day care operation, will be torn down.

Mr. Starr said the Long and Bisby building may be used as a medical clinic in the future.

“We’re exploring all that,” he said.

Deanlee is also looking at possibly saving part of the former continuing care building near the brow which dates back to 1917 and has been empty for more than two years.

The revamped plan is unlikely to get approval from a group of nearby residents who have been adamantly opposed to the project.

“It seems like a bit of a shell game,” said Barry Colbert, a neighbour who feels the developer is just moving units around from one part of the site to another.”I don’t think any of the residents are going to be impressed by that.”

Mr. Colbert is concerned Deanlee’s development will result in more pedestrian and vehicular traffic in the area, adding the move to reduce the number of units from 750 to somewhere around 600 is still no where near what the residents are seeking.

HamiltonMountainNews.com: News: Story: Brow land could see fewer units

Public input will be considered as city planners grapple with development proposal for area north of Scenic Drive

If residents living near Chedoke hospital get their way, development of the brow lands will see only 25 single detached homes erected on the west-side of Sanatorium Road north of Scenic Drive.
The limited development option (option number two) was the overwhelming favourite of residents who voted at a Dec. 13 public information centre at the Nash auditorium or online prior to midnight Dec. 31.

Of the 224 votes cast by the deadline, option number two garnered 120 votes (104 by e-mail). Option number one – no development – drew 62 votes (57 by e-mail); option 3a – medium-low development with 234 townhouse and apartment units – received 10 votes (one by e-mail); option 3b – medium-low development with 122 townhouse and apartment units in new and existing buildings – received 14 votes (10 by e-mail); option four – mixed use medium development with 256 units, mostly apartments and townhouses and a few single family homes – got 12 votes (three by e-mail) and option five – the most development with 469 units comprised mostly of apartments and some townhouses – drew six votes (four by e-mail).

The unit numbers for each option are estimates provided by city planning staff as part of the modified secondary planning work for the brow lands that began with the first of four public information centres last September. Chedoke area residents are hoping the secondary plan will control the size and scope of future development on the brow lands.

The residents’ preferred option is in stark contrast to the plan Deanlee Management of Mississauga filed with the city last June.

Deanlee, who purchased the 9.6 hectare (24 acre) brow lands from the Chedoke Health Corporation last spring, is looking to build 750 high-end condominium units on the site. The developer is also looking to close Sanatorium Road north of Scenic and make it a private condo road. The road closure process is expected to go through the public process in the coming months.

Planning staff are now pouring over Deanlee’s proposal, which includes a number of reports and studies including a planning justification report, environmental impact statement, heritage assessment, archeological assessment and a traffic study.

The city’s economic development and planning committee will consider both the modified secondary plan developed by the residents and Deanlee’s proposal in March or April.

City senior planner Brenda Khes said planning staff will consider the public input as part of the review process. Planning staff also have the option of recommending to the councillors an option that incorporates some aspects of both proposals.

Deanlee had planned to hold a public open house about the proposed development January 17, but company director Ron Starr said they had to cancel the meeting because they need time to review comments from a number of local groups and agencies that have come into the city’s planning department. Mr. Starr said a public open house will be rescheduled in the next few weeks.

Answers provided by the CHC Planning Consultant to Questions raised at the June 14, 2007 meeting:

a. Was the land ever offered to the City for $1?

The City staff and Chedoke Health Corporation are not aware of brow lands being offered to the City for a dollar. CHC discussed transferring ownership of the woodlot to the City but it was decided that the entire brow lands should be planned as one unit and the woodlot may be transferred to the City as part of the overall subdivision approval.

b. How much land is CHC retaining for the purposes of health care?

The Hamilton Health Sciences (HHS) is working on a final master plan which will determine the lands HHS wishes to retain from the present long term lease. CHC is proposing to transfer title to HHS of the requested retained lands. The HHS is seeking to retain approximately 15 acres. If the Children?s Hospital decides to develop more children?s programs at Chedoke there may be a need to retain an additional 7 acres on the east side of Sanatorium Road (around the Patterson Building).

c. How much of the land was sold for St. Peters, Arena, YWCA, Brow trail?

St. Peters received a donation of approximately 5 acres from Chedoke Health Corporation and they purchased an additional 2.2 acres of which they have returned 1.2 acres. Therefore, 6 acres have been transferred in total to St. Peter?s.

The City of Hamilton received approximately 8 acres of land from CHC for the Arena in exchange for the City assuming the responsibility for upgrades to Chedmac Drive as warranted. When the intersection of Chedmac and Rice Road was reconstructed the City received a further ? acre to the parcel.

The YWCA has not received any lands as of yet. CHC is awaiting a decision by the YWCA to locate a facility at Chedoke. The size of the land has yet to be determined. If there are some synergies between the YWCA and HHS the facility may be integrated into the HHS campus master plan.

The Brow trail is approximately 1.5 acres and was transferred to the City in exchange for park credits.

d. What is the relationship between CHC and the HHS?

Chedoke Health Corporation is a separate non profit corporation from Hamilton Health Sciences. Mr. Southall?s (President of CHC) message in the 2001 CHC newsletter stated that CHC hoped to strengthen the relationship (support) with the new HHS. The majority of the donations made by CHC have been to HHS although there have been some significant gifts to other health care organizations such as St. Josephs and St. Peters.

Contact information for the Chedoke Health Corporation Planning Consultant:

Donald May, MCIP, RPP
ALMOST THERE INC.
3310 South Service Road, Suite 205
Burlington ON L7N 3M6
Tel: (905) 332-2324
Fax: (905) 681-2924

Information provided by Chedoke Health Corporation

Height of buildings will be lower than initial proposals

Mark Newman, Hamilton Mountain News

A diagram of the proposed development of the Chedoke browlands by Deanlee Management. The numbers indicate the number of storeys for each building.

(Aug 24, 2007)

There won’t be any skyscrapers, but development plans for the Chedoke browlands call for at least one eight-storey building and two other complexes that could reach the same height as part of the proposal to build 750 units on the site.

If each unit has two occupants, the new development will bring another 1,500 residents to the west Mountain community over the next several years.

The request for an official plan amendment and by-law amendment were submitted early last week by Deanlee Management of Mississauga, who purchased the 9.6 hectare (24 acre) property from the Chedoke Health Corporation last spring with the deal expected to close in December 2008.

According to a concept drawing included among the box of documents submitted by Deanlee, the developer wants to build an eight-storey condominium complex in the middle of the browlands north of Scenic Drive and two, four- to six-storey condominium buildings on either side of Sanatorium Road at Scenic. According to the diagram, two six- to eight -storey condos are planned within the footprint of the two smaller units further back from the intersection.

In addition, an L-shaped, four- to six-storey building is planned for the north-west side of the property and a couple of rows of two- to three-storey condo townhouse units are planned along Scenic Drive, west of Sanatorium.

Several residents in the area sounded alarm bells earlier this year when previous development options floated

by Deanlee included three or four 12- to 14- storey buildings near Scenic and Sanatorium.

Deanlee director Ron Starr said they backed off from the higher structures following public complaints.

“It’s medium density,” Mr. Starr said. “We listened to the folks in the area.”

Regarding the number of units planned for the development, Mr. Starr called the 750 proposal “a good number for the site.”

All of the units are expected to be targeted at the high-end market, selling for upwards of $300,000 each.

The former long-term continuing care building near the brow that dates back to 1917 will be incorporated as part of the L-shaped building. Mr. Starr said they are hoping to save part of the structure.

Most of the other buildings on the site are expected to be torn down although the Long and Bisby building will be maintained. Mr. Starr said the daycare service currently operating in the building will likely remain there for at least the near future. He added the building could become home to a social agency some time down the road.

Mr. Starr said the green belt near the middle of the property west of Sanatorium will be expanded and left open as a rain-water catch pond and the woodlot east of Sanatorium will be turned over to the city and public access to local trails on the browlands will be maintained.

Deanlee, Mr. Star said, has spent about $500,000 preparing its submission to the city. The submission was expected to contain a number of reports including: an environmental impact statement, traffic study, archeological assessment, heritage assessment, a planning justification report and a functional servicing report.

“Hopefully we don’t have to go to the OMB (Ontario Municipal Board), but if we do, we’ve generated all the information we need to go ahead,” Mr. Starr said.

The developer is hoping to begin construction next spring, with the work being done in two or three phases, probably starting with the redevelopment of the former long-term continuing care building.

Mr. Starr said Deanlee has heard from about 12 area residents who have expressed interest in buying one of the units.

Brenda Khes, project manager of community planning at city hall, confirmed Deanlee’s application has been received.

She said the proposal will be reviewed by city planning staff to see if any issues need to be resolved. The proposal will also be sent to a variety of departments and community organizations such as the Niagara Escarpment Commission and Hamilton Conservation Authority for comment.

By late August or early September, the city will notify residents living within 120 metres of the site of the development proposal and provide a number to call for more information.

The next step would normally be for city staff to forward the proposal to the planning and development committee with a recommendation for or against approval.

But, at the request of Ward 8 councillor Terry Whitehead and with input from local residents, the city has begun a modified secondary planning process for the area that is expected to govern the size and scope of future development on the browlands.

Ms. Khes said nothing will go to committee until after the secondary plan is done and the public comments gathered as part of that process will be taken into account when Deanlee’s proposal is reviewed.

Under provincial law, the city must respond to Deanlee’s proposal within six months of receiving the application.

(Jun 1, 2007) Residents living in and around the Chedoke hospital had one final chance to comment on a Mississauga firm’s plans for the development of the browlands earlier this week.

Deanlee Management Inc. was expected to have a variety of drawings showing design alternatives on display at a public drop-in session at Chedoke hospital May 30.

“We’re trying to zero in on the type of development the neighbours would like to see,” said Deanlee director Ron Starr, who noted the company will consider the public input from the open house before deciding on a final design in the coming weeks that will include a mix of high end town house and low rise (less than 10 stories) condominium units that are expected to range in price upwards of $300,000.

Mr. Starr said Wednesday’s open house was the fifth public consultation Deanlee has had with the neighbourhood since they agreed to purchase 9.6 hectares (24 acres) of browland property from Chedoke Health Corporation earlier this year.

While Deanlee had been looking at building any where from 600 to 900 units, Mr. Starr said they will likely settle on 700 to 750 units.

“It will provide more green space and a better balance of buildings,” Mr. Starr said.

Based on two occupants per unit, the population of the area along Sanatorium Road north of Scenic Drive, could grow by more than 1,400 people by the time the project, expected to be built in phases over the next two or three years, is completed.

While several of the existing buildings on the property will likely be torn down, the heritage designated Long and Bisby building (currently home to a daycare operation) will be maintained, possibly as a community centre. Deanlee is also looking at saving the ends and part of the front of the former continuing care building as part of a low-rise condo building. The building, near the brow, dates back to 1917.

In addition, Mr. Starr said the company is looking at providing a public walkway to the rail trail as well as a pavilion and picnic area in the woodlot where tennis courts are currently located.

Mr. Starr said the company will be making an application to the city to change the zoning of the area from agricultural (industrial-institutional) to medium density residential in the next few weeks. He expects the site plan will be submitted to the city over the summer.

“We want this to be an award-winning project for the city of

Hamilton,” Mr. Starr said.