Fittings property set to start new life
Plans see support from local residents with a hint of worry
The Medallion Corporation has released its plans for a $600-million development on the site of the former Fittings Ltd. facility. As part of the plan, Medallion is proposing to construct apartment buildings and townhouses. In total, the proposed development would include approximately 2,200 units, or enough living space for approximately 4,500 people in the downtown. No timeline has been given for when shovels will get into the ground.
By Joel Wittnebel/The Oshawa Express
Another of Oshawa’s notorious eyesores is set to get a facelift.
The former site of Fittings Ltd, appropriately named for its manufacturing of pipe fittings, has been empty since 1987. Now, a developer is looking to revamp the property, complete with 10-20 storey apartment buildings, along with townhouses. The project would also include an extension of John Street through the site.
In total, the $600-million development proposed by the Medallion Corporation includes approximately 2,200 units and could see an influx of about 4,500 people into Oshawa’s downtown.
The current plan for the area sees the site divided into eight different blocks: Block 1, zoned as mixed-use, is the largest chunk of land at more than two hectares on the north-west side of the Fittings property and is set to hold 1,200 apartments; Blocks 2, 3, and 4 are all slated for apartments with more than 700 between the three of them; Blocks 5 and 6, which sit on the southern portion of the site and on the south side of Eulalie Avenue, are both designated for apartments and townhouses; Block 7 is planned as a 2.5-acre park, directly across from the existing Huron Park; and Block 8 is currently on the hook for future development.
When work eventually begins, Block 2 on the northeast portion of the site would be the first to see shovels hit the ground.
According to Jamie Shedletsky, a development manager with Medallion, while the project is in the very early stages, the company is known for constructing rental properties and the units would be geared to “the whole spectrum” of renters.
At a public meeting, residents of the area came out to offer their opinions on the plan, sharing their thoughts with city councillors and representatives from Medallion.
While concerns were raised around common issues with new developments, including real-estate values for surrounding homes, parking and traffic, the majority of vocal residents also took the chance to offer their support for redeveloping the site.
Of those in attendance was Oshawa resident Michael Dempsey, who also ran under the Green Party banner in last year’s federal election.
Dempsey says he hopes developers will taking into account the generation they are building for, noting that young renters want green and walkable communities.
“Going into the future, it’s going to be a lot different of a reality from what we have now,” he said.
With a younger mentality coming into replace the older, Dempsey noted that Medallion should be taking into account “concepts of the future” that will create “vibrant communities,” most importantly developments around local energy generation.
A concern for many residents was the 20-storey height of some of the proposed apartments, even though the larger buildings will be toward the centre of the large site, with the buildings scaling down in size as they approach the outer edge and the existing residential.
For Mayor John Henry, the project is another step toward the revitalization of the downtown, and the timing could not be better with the recent announcement of funding for the extension of GO Transit’s Lakeshore East line. The current proposal from GO sees a new station located on Ritson Road only a few blocks away.
“It’s a huge project,” Henry says. “To have a brownfield site that is intensified within walking distance of a GO station is a great story. It gives people the opportunity who tend to like to use transit versus cars and who work in the city and the live that great life in downtown Oshawa.”
Development is years away
While no timeline was provided for when development could begin on the project, Shedletsky says the “timeframe is still somewhat uncertain.” What is certain, however, is that the site is going to need a serious cleanup.
Medallion purchased the land in 2011 and in a letter to council last year, the company detailed that it had “performed extensive and expensive geotechnical and environmental testing to better understand the challenges involved with developing the Fittings Property.”
From those tests, the company found environmental remediation would be a “costly investment”.
The city approved $20,000 in grants to help with soil and groundwater tests in February 2015.
According to Paul Ralph, the city’s commissioner of development services, who spoke during the public meeting, the site would also need to meet provincial ministry requirements, something Medallion is currently in the process of obtaining.