Revised ‘Silos of Waterford’ gets warm reception

Luke Edwards

Grant Haven Media

A new, reduced plan for a West Church Street property in Waterford is responding to market conditions and housing needs in Norfolk, its proponents say.

It received a mostly positive response from Norfolk councillors during a July 7 public hearings meeting.

A proposal for the ‘Silos of Waterford’ was previously approved by this term of council back in 2023. However, earlier this month the proponents came back with a new plan that eliminates two eight-storey mid-rise buildings and converts the development to almost exclusively single-storey townhouses that will be purpose-built rentals.

“Is this a more sellable solution, do you think?” Coun. Alan Duthie asked consultant John Vallee after he presented the revised proposal.

“I do think in the current market conditions it is,” Vallee responded.

“We’re recognizing one of the challenges your housing authority has is a real lack of rental units and this is a response to that.”

The new proposal cuts the unit total by more than half, from the previously approved 255 units to 118 units. The townhouses will range from 600 to 1,000 square feet in size. Some will have garages and others won’t, and they’re unlikely to have basements, Vallee said.

There is a planned multiple-storey building on the property, one Vallee called a community centre area that will have space for residents to host social gatherings as well as extra storage space for the residents. Vallee said they hope the building will provide alternate storage space for items that usually fill up garages.

The new proposal slightly exceeds parking requirements.

All the units will be inward facing.

Acting Director of Planning and Realty Services Alisha Cull said there have been no public comments received yet, and there were no public comments offered at the meeting. Technical comments will all be addressed at the site plan stage, she said, should the proposal receive council’s blessing.

Coun. Kim Huffman, who chaired the meeting and is the Waterford councillor, was supportive of the new plan.

“I appreciate the pivot for the economy, for the community, and I think that this is a great deal for Waterford,” she said.