A number of concerns from residents in Forest Glade over a proposed long-term care home.
A public open house was held on Monday evening for the community to view preliminary plans of the development, which is expected to be constructed on four acres of vacant land on Wildwood Drive next to Seneca Park.
Angelo Marignani, ward 7 city councillor, says there was a big turnout at the open house, with those in attendance expressing concerns over traffic, infrastructure overload, loss of local green space, and if it will fit the neighbourhood.
The proposed 160-bed long-term care home would be five-storey’s on one half and four-storey’s on the other half.
Marignani says there are concerns that need to be addressed.
“It’s important that if anything goes there, that it first and foremost fits the community, and second, it doesn’t stress the infrastructure that we currently have there... and if it does stress the infrastructure, what is the city going to do to improve that infrastructure to prevent basement flooding, which we’re all quite familiar with on the east end.”
He says this was just the first step of many.
“It was a very informative meeting; there were residents who were firmly opposed, and there were residents who kind of welcomed it. The time has come to hear what the residents have to say; keep in mind it still has to go to the Development and Heritage Standing Committee meeting before anything happens, especially if there’s going to be a change in the height... it’ll be interesting. And then after that it goes to council for a final decision.”
Marignani says it’s estimated that construction could last two and a half years before completion, which is a big inconvenience for nearby residents.
“We’ve been through a lot with the building of the NextStar battery plant, consistent banging and pile dragging, the loads of trucks, the dust, the humming that we were able to mitigate. There’s a lot of development, and with that development comes a lot of negative effects, which are usually noise, dust pollution, traffic. We have to look at what we can do to help our residents with that concern.”
The proposal for rezoning is expected to go to the Development and Heritage Standing Committee by the end of 2026.
It would then go to city council for final approval.