Public meeting set for two 60-storey towers in Ajax

A public meeting is set for residents to give the town feedback about a pair of 60-storey towers that will include 1,249 homes.

If approved, the towers will be built on 190 Westney Rd. The first nine storeys will be one solid podium with two 51-storey towers on top. The podium section will house commercial space, hotel suites and parking. The towers will be residential units while the podium roof will feature some amenities.

The development site is right on the corner of Westney Rd. and O’Brien Ct. It sits between Hwy. 401 and Bayly St. The Ajax GO train station sits just to the north of the subject lands. There is currently a one-storey commercial building on the lot.

Given the size of the building proposal, the developers needed to submit an application to amend the area’s zoning bylaws. As a result, the town needed to engage the community to collect feedback on whether or not to permit the amendment.

According to the town, the development requires;

• a new maximum and minimum building height;
• a new maximum and minimum base building/podium height;
• a new maximum density limit
• a new minimum density requirement for employment uses; and
• a new maximum gross floor area for commercial uses.

Ajax held a previous meeting about the development on Feb. 2 and is hosting a second on Sept. 5. Since the application was submitted, the town has undertaken numerous studies about the impact of the development including; shadow fall, sanitation, water and storm drainage, traffic and active transit (walking or biking). All these studies are available online.

Anyone who wants to take part in the meeting can submit a written submission by Sept. 1 or by attending the meeting in the council chamber of the Ajax town hall. If participants can’t attend in person, they can register to speak remotely via [email protected].