Overwhelming opposition to a proposed condo development in the Town of Tecumseh.
Dillon Consulting hosted an open house on Tuesday evening on behalf of Fortis Group, where dozens of residents attended to express concerns.
Fortis Group is proposing to redevelop the roughly 3-acre property of the former D.M. Eagle Public School site into four three-storey, low-rise multi-residential buildings. The proposal would include a total of 48 condo units, with 12 units in each building, and 104 parking spots.
Those at the open house were able to view the proposed renderings, the building and parking layouts, and speak with representatives from Fortis and Dillon.
The main concern from those in attendance was traffic-related, as the proposed condos would back onto Tecumseh Road East. That stretch of Tecumseh is already extremely busy with Beacon Heights Public School down the street and new housing developments underway nearby.
Linda Azzopardi lives near the proposed development and says it’s a hard no.
“This has been a wonderful place to raise my children, and the traffic when we moved here was not like it is now, and to add a development to this is going to be ten times worse.”
Tamra Teno lives near the proposed development and calls the development a money grab.
“They’ve got pretty little pictures but the density is atrocious, the traffic is ridiculous, it’s going to ruin the people who play golf because they’re going to put up a big netting so you won’t even have a nice view, it’s going to impact the people who live behind them. It’s just a money grab and I don’t like it.”
Ken McFarland lives in Lakeshore near the Tecumseh border and says it looks nice but there are concerns.
“I’d like to see fewer units because you figure you’re going to throw another 96 cars in here. Trying to get out on this little two-lane street, and there’s a school right down the street... it’s hard enough to get down as it is. So, maybe they’ve got something planned that will alleviate that... I don’t know.”
Fiona Bryden lives across the street from the proposed development and says she’s disappointed with the proposal.
“These people are going to look right into our backyard which, obviously, up until now we’ve had privacy. We thought we knew what we were buying.”
Those in attendance stated they’d rather see the development be scaled back, or have the site developed into parkland.
The property is currently zoned Institutional and Fortis is seeking a zoning amendment to change it to Residential. The rezoning application has yet to go before Tecumseh council.
If the rezoning is approved, Fortis states they’re hoping to begin construction in the spring or summer of 2027.
D.M. Eagle Public School closed in the summer of 2024, with students moving to the new Beacon Heights Public School.