“Iconic” bridge and 21-story tower project for downtown Oshawa get its moment in the spotlight

The public got another look at a proposed 21-storey apartment tower behind the former Genosha Hotel Monday night but didn’t learn a whole lot of new information.

The project, at the brand-new address of 10 Mary St. N., is expected to provide 114 units in a building that is no more than 70 feet wide at its base and comes with a pedestrian bridge across the street to the Mary Street parking garage.

The applicant, TT7 Inc. and noted local developer Richard Summers, has no plans for parking at the building site and is instead planning to construct two extra floors to the parking arcade across Mary Street and construct a pedestrian walkway, described as “iconic” by Summers, to take care of the 200 parking spaces required for the tenants at 10 Mary Street and 70 King Street, the former Genosha Hotel.

There was only one member of the public who spoke up at the meeting – and that was just to request an updated report be sent to Heritage Oshawa – with a couple of Oshawa Councillors also taking the opportunity to question Summers and Naama Blonder, an architect and senior planner with Smart Density.

Blonder, in response to a concern about the density of the project said the building will be located in the heart of downtown Oshawa. “This is where development and intensification belong.”

Summers, who has been working to develop the adjacent Genosha Hotel site for many years, said the extra two floors being proposed for the parking garage and the pedestrian bridge connecting it to the apartment building will be funded by his company and TT7 Inc.

The design for the bridge has not yet been finalized – thought it has already passed a structural study – but Summers promises it will become a landmark in the downtown.

“The bridge will create something iconic as you come downtown,” he said. “It’s not just functional.”

If the project is approved it would be the second 21-storey building in the city’s downtown, with nearby 80 Bond now under construction.

Counting developments underway, approved and awaiting approval, Oshawa’s downtown is looking at more than 1,000 apartments in five high rise buildings, all within steps of each other, in the very near future.