The City of Burlington has quietly agreed to the redevelopment of the property at the northeast corner of Plains Road and Cooke Boulevard. The site is currently occupied by the Solid Gold strip club.
The latest proposal by the Vrancor Group was agreed to by the city after Vrancor appealed the city’s failure to make a decision on its original application.
The agreement with Vrancor calls for two new buildings on the site. The building on the west side of the property will have 11 storeys facing Plains Road with 18 storeys behind it. The building on the east side will be nine storeys and tier down at the back, as it faces low-density neighbourhood homes.
The building on the west side will include 1,446 square metres of retail space on the first floor and the building on the east will have 626 square metres of retail space. According to Ward 1 Councillor Kelvin Galbraith, the developer is hoping to accommodate a small grocery store and a Starbucks.
Between the two buildings will be a 15-metre-wide pedestrian connection leading to a small greenspace behind the buildings.
The new development will have a total of 550 residential units.
The city was forced to negotiate behind closed doors with Vrancor after the developer appealed to the Ontario Land Tribunal (OLT). The developer’s original proposal was for building heights of 10 and 12 storeys. A hearing date of October 31 was looming.
The agreement is expected to be ratified at the hearing and should eventually result in the demise of the strip club.
