A Niagara-on-the-Lake restaurateur has a plan to build hotels and condos in Glendale. 

Bob Mavridis, owner of Corks and Orzo, wants to build a mixed-use development on 4.8 hectares facing York Road near the existing Hilton Garden Inn and backing onto Six Mile Creek. 

Mavridis is the father of Coun. Maria Mavridis, who told The Lake Report “many will be surprised” to see it’s her father’s project as she has not spoken about it publicly.

As an elected official, she said she will be declaring a conflict on the issue and removing herself from meetings on the project.

“I take my position seriously and would never compromise it,” she said. 

The project consists of one 10-storey tower with 216 residential units, an eight-storey building with 154 hotel rooms, two two-storey blocks with 11 more hotel rooms and a fast-food restaurant with a drive-thru.

It is the latest major development to be unveiled for the Glendale area in recent months.

Plans for four highrise towers on property beside White Oaks Resort south of the QEW have already sparked opposition from nearby residents.

The Mavridis land is on the north side of the highway.

According to a report prepared for Mavridis by NPG Planning Solutions’ Aaron Butler, the residential tower will be about 48 metres tall, making it the biggest of the proposed structures.

The hotel tower will be just over 36 metres and the two much shorter hotel blocks will be 10.5 metres tall. 

The two towers will be mounted on a shared first floor podium, which would be reserved for retail operations.

“The commercial and retail uses on site will create employment opportunities for residents of Glendale,” the report said.

The application also proposes 483 parking spaces, the bulk of which will be distributed in two levels of underground parking. 

The property is vacant, except for a section of Six Mile Creek that cuts through it.

The creek is part of a flood plain protected by the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority, but according to Butler’s report, the proposed buildings do not sit on the protected land.

The intent of the proposal is to provide additional housing, while still “protecting and enhancing the landscape and natural features” on the property, Butler said.

Over 76 per cent of the land will be reserved for landscaping and green space.