Efforts to create 75 homes on the corner of Simcoe Road and Line 6 in Bradford took another step forward.
Based on a report from Ray Kelso, senior planner for the town, council agreed to grant a two-year extension for draft plan of subdivision approval to 2587499 Ontario Inc. for their Simcoe Gardens development during the regular council meeting on Dec. 17. That’s set to include 71 townhouses at 539-563 Simcoe Rd. and four semi-detached units at 2575 Line 6.
The request came from Marshall Smith of KLM Planning on behalf of the numbered company, and was originally for a three-year extension, but Ward 5 Coun. Peter Ferragine pushed for a tighter window, just as he had at the previous council meeting for Bond Head Properties Inc.’s industrial development on the northeast corner of Highway 400 and Line 5.
“We constantly talk around this table about how we need more housing and we need more development,” Ferragine said this week, asserting work to finalize the agreements for Simcoe Gardens should have been completed already. “I’d like to see it done quicker.”
The existing draft approval was set to expire on Dec. 21 this year, but has now been extended to Dec. 21, 2026.
According to the report, the developer is still performing engineering and intends to finalize the agreements with the town in early 2025 before moving on to site work.
This marks the second time the development has come before council this year, after councillors approved plans for the subdivision agreement on June 18, including an updated layout.
The site is about 2.49 hectares, of which about 1.56 hectares or 62 per cent is set to be developed while the remainder is either to be set aside for future widening of Line 6 and Simcoe Road, or considered a floodplain by the Lake Simcoe Region Conservation Authority.
There is also a 300-square-metre playground or “tot lot” proposed on the east side of the site.
While the semi-detached units are expected to be free-hold and have direct access to Line 6, a new road is proposed to extend south from Line 6 and form a loop before turning west to connect with Simcoe Road, to provide access to the 71 condominium townhouses which are divided into the following types:
- rear-loaded block — 21
- front-loaded block — 26
- back-to-back — 22
- rear lane — two
Depending on the layout, most units have two proposed parking spaces each, but some have four, and the subdivision is also set to include 19 visitor parking spaces, including one accessible space.
On Dec. 21, 2021, council amended the zoning for the properties to Residential Two (R2) with exceptions to permit the proposed development, based on a recommendation from committee of the whole following initial applications from the developer in 2019.
