The proposed redevelopment of the former General Amherst High School will be back in front of Amherstburg council Monday night.
Valente Development completed the purchase of the former school property in April 2024.
Valente's proposal calls for 144 units constructed in an 8-storey and 11-storey mixed-use towers with residential, commercial, and institutional uses on the property located at 130 Sandwich Street South.
Town administration is recommending council approve rezoning the area from institutional to mixed-use residential/commercial.
Deputy Mayor Chris Gibb says this is one of the biggest developments in recent history.
"144 proposed residential units, main floor would be commercial, it's one of the biggest, if not the biggest developments that I can think of in my history in Amherstburg," Gibb said.
Parking on-site and underground for a total of 262 vehicles is proposed for the commercial and residential, with access from Sandwich Street South and Laird Avenue South.
In April, public consultations were held and Gibb says they're still hearing more of the same when it comes to height and parking.
"We've got a beautiful downtown but it was laid out before cars were even an idea, so parking is always a hot issue in Amherstburg, and then the traffic, we're a growing community and traffic is getting tougher and tougher, so these are all issues that council is going to have to weigh in on," he said.
Gibb says this is one of the first steps in the process to being able to get shovels in the ground.
"The whole building will have to go through site plan approval, and there'll be other issues that come up along the way, but again with the way the province has changed all the rules about development and housing, this will most likely be the last time council gets to weigh in because the site plan and all those approvals, the province has mandated that it's all approved by town staff," Gibb said.
Last year, Valente also approached the town with a separate proposal to develop a new town hall within the former high school. Gibb says that issue that will be considered separately at a future date should the proposal move forward.
Amherstburg council meets Monday at 6 p.m.