Sault Ste. Marie city council will learn further to a new 12 storey apartment complex planned for vacant land on Gladstone ave and McDonald Ave.

The Developers , Joe Ruscio, Dan Ruscio and John Martella , described the apartments as ‘luxury units’ with substantial amenity areas. The target market is seniors and the close proximity of the Collegiate Heights Retirement Home is seen as an asset. The applicant indicated the overall concept is similar to the recently constructed apartments as part ofthe Sault Finnish Rest Home on North Street.Although floor plans and the overall dwelling split have not been finalized, construction is anticipated to take approximately 1.5 years and include pile driving for the building’s foundation.

The 12-storey building will be a prominent fixture of the city’s skyline. The developers are proposing acontemporary building. Utilizing 4 distinct façade treatments (glass, grey brick, white paneling and yellow rectangular accents) will break up the monotony of a homogeneous façade and provide visual interest when viewed from a distance.

The proposed site and lot configuration will mitigate any potential impacts (such as aesthetics, rear yard privacy and shading effects) upon adjacent properties to the north and west. Apart from the church to the east, there is no development along Gladstone Avenue. The dominantland use to the south is the existing Collegiate Heights Retirement Home. The proposed apartment building is well setback from all lot lines and will not impact existing views from this portion of ‘the hill’. Given the size of the development, Site Plan Control is of critical importance, to ensure technical matters such as servicing and drainage are appropriately designed, constructed and maintained over the long term. Given the prominence of the development, Site Plan Control will also be utilized to ensure that exterior development details such as landscaping and façade design (for both the apartment building and parking garages) are of a high quality.

This development is just one of many new developments coming before council this year.