Waterloo exploring potential MZO for new affordable housing project
CTV
The City of Waterloo is moving forward with a plan to try and rezone 25 acres of city-owned land near RIM Park to allow for affordable and attainable housing.
The City of Waterloo is moving forward with a plan to try and rezone 25 acres of city-owned land near RIM Park to allow for affordable and attainable housing.
The property at 2025 University Ave. E. in Ward 4 is currently zoned for employment. The city purchase it in 1999 when building Rim Park, but it has remained a vacant open field since. Now the city wants to develop around 730 units on the property and is beginning the process to do so.
"This is an opportunity for Waterloo to really do our part, I think to overachieve in doing our part, to build more homes faster," Mayor Dorothy McCabe told the meeting.
A consultant estimates the property could support 480 stacked townhouses and 250 apartments.
At Monday’s meeting council gave staff the greenlight to begin consulting nearby homes and businesses about the rezoning and to explore the process of filing for a Minister’s Zoning Order (MZO).
Staff said the project would represent more than half of Waterloo’s provincial housing target for 2024. The city has a deficit of approximately 3,460 affordable housing units, with an average of only 12 new units added per year between 2010 and 2022. This development would also help the city get closer to its target of 16,000 new residential units by 2031.
"Housing is not just bricks and mortar. It's about opportunities for families, individuals, seniors, youth of all socioeconomic backgrounds," McCabe said.
