Residents near a proposed development on Roseland Drive are concerned with how it would change the neighbourhood.
At the city's Development and Heritage Standing Committee earlier this month, Petcon Realty Corp. asked to rezone the land and build 16 townhomes on the land of the former St. James Anglican Church on Roseland Drive East.
The proposal was approved by the committee, but now needs city council approval for the official green light. Petcon Realty is looking to build two semi-detached dwellings with four total units, and four townhome dwellings with 12 total units. Each dwelling unit will have an attached garage and a driveway.
Despite this approval by the committee, residents in the area have started a petition and are concerned over this proposed development.
Main concerns include an increase in traffic, more vehicles parking on the road, more renters opposed to homeowners, and a devaluation of existing properties in the area.
Esam Saeed, an area resident, says there are many concerns.
"There will be more traffic, I think 16 units in this small area will create more traffic, more parking on the streets because many of those units will be rented out... maybe more than one family will be there, each family will have at least two to three cars."
Saeed says so far, 40 people have signed their petition.
"Most of them, I can say 90 per cent of the people that we met, they are against the changing of the zoning from single-family to multi-unit."
Tony Putrus, another area resident, says he's not opposed to development on that piece of land.
"If it was a few houses, like single homes, oh by all means, I would love too, I'm with the builder, or developer, or the contractor, but to build multi-units, absolutely I'm against it."
Fred Francis, ward 1 councillor and committee member, says development is needed.
"What we've seen in Windsor throughout all these different neighbourhoods is just development, after development, five, six, eight storey buildings and that's it. Adding an alternative, like a townhome development, I think could set a really good precedent not only in south Windsor, but across the city."
Francis says this is a moderate development compared to what could go there.
"If it's not going to be single-family homes, senior executive two-storey homes, would you rather have a townhome development that looks like a single-family home... a two-storey home that is the same height as all the other homes around it, that essentially looks like a big two-storey home but has multiple units inside as a townhome, or would you rather see a five, six, seven storey building?"
Both Saeed and Putrus state they plan to attend the meeting when it goes to city council in the new year.
The church first opened in the early 1950's and held its final service at the end of October 2023. The church was listed for sale in mid-February 2024 for just under $1-million for the 1.25-acre island that included the parking lot, the green space, the church, and a detached home.
The church has already been demolished, and the developer states that if it's approved by council he plans to have shovels in the ground by spring 2026.