KITCHENER - After council sent it back to the drawing board, a developer has come up with a plan that will build a new highrise rental apartment while still saving two heritage homes.

Vive Development Corp. had applied in September to demolish three buildings to make way for the apartment building - the OneRoof youth shelter at 242 Queen St. S., as well as a 134-year-old Italianate-style house at 254 Queen St. S. and a 127-year-old house at 262 Queen built by prominent early industrialist C.A. Ahrens.

But council rejected the plan, saying the developer had to come up with a proposal that retained the two historic homes. At the time, the developer had said doing so would be difficult, given the small size of the property, the location of the historic homes and the costs of development.

"The economics are challenging," Heather Campbell of Vive said at the time.

But on Tuesday, the developer outlined a new proposal that would allow intensification of the property and keep the heritage homes.

Instead of the original plan for an eight-storey, 125-unit rental apartment building, Vive is proposing a 10-storey building with the same number of units, rising behind the heritage homes. The two homes would be stripped of later additions and remodelled into duplexes.

In the concept presented Tuesday to the heritage committee, the new building rises behind the two heritage homes, as a charcoal-coloured slab at the rear of the property. The proposal includes a handful of surface parking spots, as well as underground parking.

Nearby residents and committee members praised the new plan as a major improvement over what had previously been proposed.

"This preserves the two homes and gives us a streetscape that reflects the way it once was, and the city gets the intensification it wants," said Mario Chilanski, a resident of the Victoria Park neighbourhood who said Vive was quite willing to work with local residents to come up with a workable solution.

Several committee members praised the developer for being flexible.

"They worked together to create a solution that is a better fit for everyone," said committee members Steve Strohack.

Others hoped the design would be improved as it works its way through site plan approval and heritage approvals.

"I feel it is very much the minimum," said committee chair Ashley Reid. "Frankly, I find the building just kind of boring. I was hoping for something a little bit more creative."

cthompson@therecord.com

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