New urban subdivision planned for Merrickville

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Local home-builder Park View Homes presented their plans for a new subdivision in Merrickville to the Planning Advisory Committee (PAC) last Thursday evening.

Merrickville Grove is set to be an urban subdivision located to the west of St. Lawrence Street. It will see the opening of an unopened portion St John Street, from Sophie Lane all the way to Bruce Street West. An unopened portion of Wallace Street will also be developed, joining St. John Street to St. Lawrence Street. As of Thursday, the plans were to build 67 two-story town homes, 16 bungalow town homes, and a 15-unit apartment, adding 98 new homes to the Village. A storm pond and ¾ acre park are also part of the subdivision plan.

President of Park View Homes Andrew Cinnamon says that they took the needs of Merrickville-Wolford into consideration when developing their plan for the subdivision. They believe the option of the bungalows or apartments will be great for seniors who want to remain in the Village but don’t want a large home with lots of stairs. He says he hopes the larger two-storey townhomes will be a great option for young families who want to take advantage of the quality schools and community that Merrickville has to offer. Andrew says they know that the cost of housing is on the rise, and housing affordability is a big issue in many communities across the country. “Merrickville has been proactive because they have not burdened the new homes with development charges in order to promote growth,” he said at the meeting. “Park View Homes is planning to bring new homes to the market that are affordable.”

Andrew sees many economic benefits of Merrickville Grove for the Village as well. Firstly, the new subdivision will increase the stable population base, which will help with the municipal tax rate and sewer and water rates in the Village, something that has been an ongoing concern for many residents in Merrickville. This increase will also bring more local customers to the businesses in the downtown core, and the promotion of the Merrickville Grove will create an even greater awareness of what the Village has to offer.

The establishment of the park and several walking trails in the Village is a way that Park View Homes is hoping to contribute to the municipality’s goal of building a healthy and active community. Building parks is not usually included in the scope of a developer’s responsibilities, but Andrew says Park View Homes is interested in taking it on and then handing it over to the municipality to maintain long term. The storm pond will help with storm water management on the property and help control the flooding that some current homes surrounding the proposed subdivision currently face.

Andrew added that the new roads will be built to a high standard, with a greater width than the current streets in Merrickville, leaving room for more sidewalks and parking for visitor use, especially on the weekend. Each home will have its own garage with a driveway to accommodate up to two cars per household.

When creating the design of the homes Park View Homes, designers studied the homes/buildings in the town with the intent of capturing some of the key heritage features that make Merrickville such a beautiful place to live. Features like grey stone, red brick, quoined corners, metal roofs, half round windows, dark coloured front doors, colonial shutters and square columns are all being considered in the designs of the new builds.

Park View Homes has already completed an environmental impact assessment which concluded that there are no species at risk, including the endangered Butternut Tree, on the property. Next step for Park View Homes is to submit an application for subdivision approval to the United County of Leeds and Grenville, which will then be circulated to the municipality. Andrew said at the meeting on Thursday that the application would be submitted in the next few days. “Park View Homes is proud to present Merrickville Grove,” Andrew said.

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