KITCHENER — The three-acre parcel on Margaret Avenue has been vacant so long, many residents don't remember it any other way.

But after sitting empty for more than 30 years, a local developer plans to build two six-storey buildings on the site in the heart of the city's oldest neighbourhood.

Activa, a developer based in Waterloo Region, bought the 1.22-hectare site at 30-40 Margaret Ave. in 2012. It proposes 234 one- and two-bedroom luxury condos and two floors of underground parking, and hopes to begin building the project in abut a year.

The condos will be aimed at a mix of people "who value being in a beautiful neighbourhood, in the arts centre of Waterloo Region," said Geoff McMurdo, Activa's vice-president of business development.

The tree-shaded spot, in the middle of a gracious residential area steps from the central library and the Centre in the Square, has been empty since 1988, when a previous owner demolished six stately homes on the street. Since then, it's served as the neighbourhood's informal dog-walking park. Every spring, flowers from the gardens of the long-vanished homes still bloom.

"That loss of open green space will be felt and missed," said resident Hal Jaeger, who expects lots of people to show up at the open house on the project at Kitchener City Hall on Thursday at 6:30 p.m.

"This is the biggest single chunk of (vacant) land in the heart of the neighbourhood," Jaeger said.

Zoning allows a development of this type, McMurdo said. Activa is in discussions with city planners to refine the site plan and work out heritage issues, as the site is in the Civic Centre heritage district.

Activa has reached out to the neighbourhood, attending the Olde Berlin neighbourhood association's annual meeting, and meeting with the association executive, Jaeger said. He also believes Activa has made some effort to design a building that fits with the neighbourhood, using materials like brick.

But there are concerns about what will go in the long-vacant spot.

"Immediate neighbours of course are concerned about the massing of a much larger structure right beside their low-rise homes," Jaeger said. He'd like the upper storeys of the buildings to be stepped back further from the street, as recommended in the district heritage plan, so the new structures don't block sun and loom over the street.

Activa is aiming the units at a "high-end market" of people who will appreciate the unique features of the neighbourhood, McMurdo said. The last proposal for the site, to build a six-storey building with 210 units, was approved by council over strenuous opposition from nearby residents.

"We're going to do our best to make sure what's built there is pretty special," McMurdo said.

Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading...

cthompson@therecord.com

Twitter: @ThompsonRecord