Neighbours are “horrified” by an Ontario Municipal Board ruling that gives the green light to a proposed University of Toronto student residence on College St., a decision that overrules city planners on a controversial development project for the second time in a week.

The planned 25-storey residence will be built and operated by a private developer, Knightstone Capital Management, which bought the property before selling it to the university and then leasing it back. It will contain 829 beds, most of which will be occupied by U of T students.

Neighbourhood activists say they worry about the noise and mess that hundreds of undergraduates could bring. And locals fear the towering structure coming to 245 College, between Huron St. and Spadina Ave., will set a precedent for the construction of other tall buildings in the area.

“I think it’s a dreadful decision,” said Ceta Ramkhalawansingh of the Grange Community Association. “It means the end of all of the heritage on College St. There are two or three other applications that want 20-plus storey buildings.”

“This is exactly the reason the OMB needs to be abolished — because it will destroy neighbourhoods.”

Patrick Miksa, vice-president for academic assets at Knightstone, said he was “pleased” with the ruling. “We moved forward with the OMB after all efforts had been exhausted,” he said. “We believe in the process that’s in place and we followed it. We’ll obviously make the best efforts to ensure that (the residence) fits well in the community.”

Opponents of the residence forced the reduction of its proposed height from 42 storeys to 25 over the course of a prolonged battle. But they still feel that the OMB and the developer won.

Ramkhalawansingh says residents of the neighbourhood have been serially abused throughout the process; the university “leased this land in secret, in a secret meeting, to a private developer. So we get f---ed by the OMB and we get f---ed by the university, and we’re about to get screwed again by the developer.”

U of T could not be reached for comment on Monday night. The OMB’s decision mirrors its recent approval of an Ossington Ave. condo project that the city had rejected on height grounds.

Neighbours say they felt frustrated by the appeal process, which was initiated by Knightstone.

“It feels like it’s a farce,” said Ursula Buck, who lives nearby. “It’s like a dog and pony show to up there for two weeks … to have the city go up and make a case, and nothing was considered.”

Correction - June 24, 2014: This article was edited from a previous version that included an incorrect photograph that showed the Lillian H. Smith library on College Street. In fact, the neighbouring building at 245 College is slated for demolition, not the library.