The new owners of a historic stone church facade on James Street South have won city permission to build an attached 31-storey condo tower — and work could begin this spring.

But at least one neighbouring property owner has raised the prospect of an appeal of the latest changes to the tower plan, arguing it deserves "more fulsome" public review by city council.

Most of the former James Street Baptist church was controversially razed in 2014 by the previous owner for a planned $80-million, 30-storey condo dubbed The Connolly. That project was placed in receivership in 2017 and eventually sold to Hue Developments, which still has conditional site plan approval from the city.

The new owners sought and received variances from the city committee of adjustment Thursday that would allow some changes to the old tower plan — in particular, an extra storey, more units and parking relief. The newly proposed 31-storey tower would include 315 units, rather than the previous maximum of 259.

Brenda Khes, a consultant representing Hue Developments, said "if all goes well," the developer hopes to get a building permit for foundation work at 98 James St. S as early as this spring.

The developer has committed to incorporating the heritage-protected church facade into the new tower. The sliced-off stone frontage of the former church still stands unsupported on James Street South, but engineers have so far said it is not in danger of collapsing.

The committee signed off on the variances — but not before acknowledging the disagreement of a neighbouring landowner that could still lead to an appeal within the next 21 days.

The committee received a last-minute letter from the lawyer for the owners of property on James, Hughson and Jackson that suggested the tweaked Connolly plan required "more fulsome public processing" before city council.

The city's committee of adjustment, which approved the new plan, is intended to make decisions on zoning bylaw changes deemed minor in nature.

The letter from lawyer Patrick Harrington called the application "premature" because the city's new downtown secondary plan — which limits new builds to 30 storeys or the height of the escarpment — is still under appeal by his client, Fengate Capital Management.

It also suggested council needs to weigh in on the request for 56 additional units and an exemption from the need for any commercial parking spots. "Such a request is not a minor variance," the letter states.

mvandongen@thespec.com

905-526-3241 | @Mattatthespec