Developers are looking to build a hotel in Historic Old Town where tourists can relax and sleep, but not blast music and drink alcohol. Some neighbours who live in the area, however, are calling foul.
The proposed site, given to the planning committee of the whole on Tuesday, is at 222 Gate St. and an area of land without an address east of the site.
The plan is for a two-storey hotel with 18 rooms, with terraces in the front and back of the building. Hotel guests would be able to go to the neighbouring 124 on Queen Hotel and Spa and have access to Gate Street.
“We want to make sure there is no impact to the surrounding residential neighbours,” said William Heikoop, the project’s applicant, during the June 3 meeting.
The land to the east hosts an underground parking garage and the façade of the Smithy, a historic 19th-century building that used to be the blacksmith shop of William Gallop.
The building used to sit on Johnson Street and was moved by crane in 2021 — it now makes up part of 124 on Queen.
There are no proposed changes to the Smithy itself in the application.
During an open house held on April 28, 10 residents wrote down complaints and three more came to the meeting to express their concerns.
One common complaint was that the area, a mostly residential historical area, would become more commercial with the introduction of a new hotel.
“The only commercial in our area is Mr. Jones and the grocery store, that’s it,” said Brodie Townley.
Mr. Jones refers to David Jones, a developer who undertook a development project in a similar area to this proposal in the late 2010s and early 2020s.
Multiple residents voiced concerns about the trustworthiness of the people looking for council to approve the project. Some residents said that promises had also been broken in the past.
“The Smithy was supposed to be a long-term rental, and it was never used for that,” said Townley. “There were supposed to be trees all along the boundary, no food or beverage except guests enjoying a glass of wine … All of this was agreed to by Mr. Jones, and he backed out of all these things.”
“Mr. Jones does what he wants to do,” said Townley, a line which drew a rebuke from council.
The historic value of the area was also the subject of discussion among some critics. Andrew Taylor, a resident near the site, told the committee that on top of making the project where he lives “unliveable,” the project would also be out of place in a historic area of NOTL.
“This project threatens to disrupt historic continuity,” said Taylor.
John Federci, a senior planner at NOTL, said that the project is exempt from the Queen-Picton historical conservation district study it is located in, which was also discussed during Tuesday’s meeting and looks into whether a large section of NOTL downtown will be conserved for historical status.
The project is exempt from the conservation district’s study area bylaw, which came into effect on March 27. Federci’s information report explains that, as per the bylaw, any properties “that have undergone a pre-consultation process” with the town get an exemption, which includes this one.
The report also states that the project will need a heritage permit to consider the development and its impacts on “adjacent heritage resources” within the district.
Heikoop also said that the hotel was designed to look historical.
The project is also being criticized for the potential for noise and disruption. The proposed hotel is intended to be used for wedding ceremonies, with no amplified music or alcohol.
But some residents do not believe this will be the reality once the project is complete.
“It will devolve,” said Townley, meaning wedding ceremonies will become something more disruptive.
The next planning committee of the whole is on July 8 at 6 p.m.
