Young Street apartment complex development approved by Truro town council

TRURO, N.S. — A development application to permit the construction of a 65-unit apartment building on Young Street was approved by Truro town council following a public hearing on Jan. 11.

The building will be on 85 Young Street, where Truro’s train station once was. The station has long since been demolished.

Replacing an earlier development agreement, this new agreement sees several changes. The new deal sees the building expanded from five stories to six stories, with an increase in units from 53 to 65.

Out of the 65 units, there will be 30 one-bedrooms and 35 two-bedrooms.

In turn, the commercial space in the original agreement has been downsized from 220 square metres to 51.7 square metres. One extra parking space has been added for a total of 55, but the parking ratio has decreased from 1.02 spaces per unit to 0.85 spaces per unit.

The rear setback has also been increased, with the north setback being reduced.

The amenity space of the building, on the rooftop, has seen a slight decrease of 836 square metres to 813 square metres.

Council’s questions

Deputy Mayor Cathy Hinton was the first to question the developer, Peter Jabbour. She asked about the developer’s intentions to respect the history of the plot of land, which used to be owned and operated by CN Rail as a station.

“We did name the building, and we will eventually move it into our new company; it’s called Station 85 because there used to be a station there,” said Jabbour.

On top of the name change, he said they will use red brick, matching an old station photo, for the vestibule.

Hinton asked about seating for those who rely on cabs and rides to get around town. Jabbour said there would be a lounge area with sufficient seating.

Coun. Ian McGrath voiced concerns over the flow of traffic and noise, with the building being next to the railway. He asked if there would be any additional soundproofing. Jabbour said insulation in the building will act as soundproofing.

McGrath also asked about the accessible parking space in the parking garage, making sure accessible vehicles would be able to clear the height of the parkade.

Jabbour said the accessible parking spots will be on the top level, despite what initial planning documents show. He also added they’ll include bike racks with parking and may introduce a charger for e-bikes. Answering a question later in the meeting, Jabbour also noted they may introduce electric vehicle chargers when they become the standard.

Commercial space

Coun. Bill Thomas noted the reduced commercial space in the building, stating this is the third building in the area that is nearly all residential. He asked Director of Planning Jason Fox to comment on the decision from the planning department’s perspective.

“It’s a very difficult market for commercial downtown, so forcing developers to include commercial at-grade, in some instances, may end up wasting space that could’ve otherwise been used for residential, and in this market we currently have, we are in need of residential units,” said Fox.

Thomas added the building does not conform to the urban design standards of the town. He said he would’ve liked to have seen two to three stories on the street front and then a setback for the other three stories, stating it may give them more units and make the building more appealing.

“I like the idea of that urban design standards,” said Thomas. “We’ve shied away from that a little bit; in fact, we have one storey and then set back.”

Fox explained he had the same idea, but the developer would’ve had to incur further construction costs, affecting the units’ affordability. Jabbour agreed with Fox’s explanation, adding that they try to keep their electrical, plumbing, and other infrastructure simple – a difficult task for a more complex design.

Jabbour also noted the foundation of the old station, which is currently being dug up. CAO Mike Dolter explained they typically deconstruct the foundation when demolishing buildings these days, but that wasn’t the case when the station was demolished.

Landscaping

Thomas also asked about a landscaping plan, stating the building would benefit from plants outside the facade.

Fox indicated no landscaping plan was required and reminded council that a landscaping plan would incur further costs on the developer.

“The developer has agreed to do trees and landscape the property,” said Fox, “I think it’s in his interest to have an attractive site, as well as ours. So, I don’t know if it’s necessary given what it currently is on the site.”

He added they could require trees to be added as part of the plan but not require a full landscaping plan. Thomas agreed with Fox’s idea. Jabbour said the perimeter of the building will be landscaped.

“It’s sometimes hard to picture it, but no one is going to want to live in a building where all you look around you is pebbles, dust, and dirt. We will have it all green, all the way around, especially between us and the skateboard park behind us. That’ll be all grass.”

Fox added the town could also landscape the area’s strip along the track they own.

Soundproofing

Spurred by another of Thomas’ questions regarding reverberations from the back of the Truro Centre, McGrath asked if the developer could use soundproofing along the north and east faces of the building to help prevent any loud noise from disturbing tenants.

McGrath cited his own experience using the skate park as an example.

“Sometimes, when skateboarders are down there, and something slams against the concrete, it does echo. It sounds like a ricochet.”

Jabbour replied that from what he’s been told from the engineers, they “shouldn’t really have that much of a vibration.

“Sound does rise, so it’s going to go up. I can ask that question, but I don’t really know the answer, to be honest.”

Jabbour also mentioned there will be fencing behind the building to separate it from the skatepark, though the town will retain a walkway for people to walk through.

Start and completion

Hinton asked about when the project would start, to which Jabbour replied that they already have broken ground.

When asked how long it would take to build, Jabbour gave a rough estimate, pending any setbacks.

“I’d like to say 18 months is our timeline,” said Jabbour. “So, we’ve broken ground there now, and if this process all goes smooth, I’d like to start putting concrete in by mid-February. Mid-February or early March is my timeline right now.”

Council voted unanimously during their meeting to enter into a development agreement with Jabbour upon the submission of a stormwater management plan.