Big plans for former high school property

By Mark Ribble

LEAMINGTON — If a proposed concept plan for the former Leamington District Secondary School (LDSS) property comes to fruition, the municipality will have affordable and attainable housing for almost 300 additional families.

The initial concept plan, developed by Dillon Associates, was presented to Leamington Council at their meeting on Tuesday, January 25.

It calls for three mid-rise apartment buildings (six floors each) near the front of the property where the school now stands, as well as 53 townhouses behind them and another 24 small multi-residential units at the back of the property.

The plan for the 13-acre Talbot Street West site would also allow for the possibility of a small commercial building near the roadway, which could house a medical office, legal office or other commercial entity.

Across the road where the original high school was built in the early 20th century, the LDSS parking lot — a 1.75 acre lot — could be sold off or retained by the municipality, with suggestion of a grocery store to service the 293 families.

The proposed ‘concept plan’ for the former LDSS property on Talbot Street West in In the bottom graphic, the plan for the former LDSS parking lot on the south side of the road.

Of course, this is all preliminary and acts as a launching point for council to issue a Request for Proposal (RFP) on the property, and there are a number of hoops to jump through, but Mayor Hilda MacDonald is excited to see it unfold.

“It’s a wonderful opportunity to offer something to people,” she said. “We’re very happy to be moving this project forward.” One of the stumbling blocks involves the Leamington 535 Squadron of the Royal Canadian Air Cadets.

The squadron sent a delegation to the meeting (virtually) to remind council that their building has been active on the property for a long time.

According to spokesperson Jonathan Azzopardi, the squadron has been part of the community since 1958.

The Air Cadet building at the back of the LDSS property was relocated to that spot from the Windsor Airport, where it had been used in the Second World War as a training facility.

Azzopardi said that the cadets are opposed to the removal of their building, which holds historical significance in the community, and feels they were informed of the plan much too late into the process.

“The cadet movement was started to help our country out of dark times,” said Azzopardi. “Not unlike what we are going through now.”

Azzopardi did say that the squadron leadership is willing to sit down with town officials to come to a solution and council responded in kind, hoping to set up a meeting to iron out the details.

The recommendation put forth by town administration was to go ahead with the conceptual drawings plan, and then tweak it as needed when zoning amendment meetings are held.

One of the concerns by council was the 1.2 parking spaces per unit that the plan allows.

“I’d really like to see that at 1.5 spaces,” said Councillor Tim Wilkinson, acknowledging that it may reduce the number of housing units on the property.

Many council members spoke in support of the cadets and Councillor John Hammond offered a possible solution.

JOHN HAMMOND

“Perhaps we can explore them using the basement of the complex and allowing meeting and classroom space upstairs,” he said.

“They are definitely a valuable part of the community,” said Mayor MacDonald.

It was decided to amend the recommendation, adding a clause that states the municipality will seek legal advice as to the cadet building before moving forward.

The recommendation was then put to a vote, and unanimously passed.

“We’re hoping for several applicants to the RFP,” said Mayor MacDonald. “It needs to be very inclusive and not just for one element of the population.”

The matter will return to council during zoning discussions once there are applicants for the RFP, where changes and tweaks can be made to the concept plan. RFP applicants can also present their own design ideas.

If all goes well, construction will begin in the spring of 2023.