The Burns Lake village council has approved an amendment to the development of the seniors housing units on fifth avenue.
The seniors housing development on three lots at the corner of fifth Ave. and Government St. across from the Lakes District Secondary School track, was approved by the council last November. One of the three triplexes is ready, however developers Fred and Audrey Carpenter sought an amendment for the other two lots during a recent council meeting.
The lots were to be developed as triplexes with two two-bedroom units and two one-bedroom units however, the developers were finding it difficult to have any interested buyers for the one-bedroom apartments. The seniors that the developers were targeting were not interested in having one bedroom apartments. The developers requested that the lot line between the lots be removed to accomodate all two-bedroom apartments, so this development would actually have four two-bedroom units, also known as fourplex. The developers’ proposal mentioned that this change would not only allow more space to build the two-bedroom units but also would help in gaining increased space for a courtyard area with landscaping and a sitting area, that all the residents would be able to enjoy.
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“It is a better layout and better use of the property, so my recommendation is to approve the amendment,” said the village Chief Administrative Office Sheryl Worthing during the meeting. Despite the changes in the layout, the developers will be going ahead with the initially approved design plans and there also wouldn’t be any additional parking.
The council passed the motion to approve the suggested amendments during their first in-person council meeting on June 9, after several days of online meetings due to the Covid restrictions. The construction of the remaining lots is expected to be completed by December 2023, after which the permit for construction would lapse.
Priyanka Ketkar
Multimedia journalist
@PriyankaKetkar
priyanka.ketkar@ldnews.net
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