Close to 2,000 residential units could go up in northwest Welland in coming years as a result of an urban boundary expansion.
The change saw an additional 190 hectares of land included in the boundary, with 125 hectares designated for residential development.
Currently, 23 hectares of residential properties already exist in that part of the city.
The subject lands are bordered by Welland’s northern municipal boundary with Thorold and Pelham, Niagara Street to the east, the existing city urban boundary to the south and Clare Avenue to the west, said director of planning and development services Grant Munday.
Developers are snatching up properties and there are “many pre-consultations” going on with the local government and other involved agencies, said Munday.
The city is estimating this expansion will equate to 1,848 residential units in that part of the city north of Woodlawn Road, along Quaker Road and the Welland-Thorold border, between Niagara Street and Clare Avenue.
Two properties on Quaker Road have had former structures recently demolished, which were home to an automotive garage and a home that also offered an HVAC business, said Munday.
These lots have been bought by Centennial Homes Niagara Inc., who is looking at creating “some kind of housing development,” but hasn’t confirmed their plans yet.
These lands are currently zoned community commercial corridor 2, which allows mixed uses — commercial and residential buildings no higher than eight storeys.
Only if the developer proposed plans that go outside its current designation would a city approval be needed — either from council or committee of adjustment.
On another property on Quaker Road., there are “developers in the process of trying to subdivide the property,” he said, adding that sites with ground already broken are likely due to developers moving ahead with environmental and possible archaeological processes.
When it comes to seeing the northwest area of Welland completely redeveloped it won’t happen overnight.
“You probably won’t see any homes being built for two years,” said Munday, adding the total build out could take about 10 years to come to fruition.
“It really depends on market conditions and how long the approvals take,” said Munday.
Within 190-hectare section of the city, about 85 hectares are expected to be used for low-density development, and 13.8 hectares for medium-density projects.
More than three hectares will be taken over for mixed uses. Schools make up close to eight hectares, with three elementary schools within the area.
More than five hectares have been designated for parkland, and more than 30 hectares for natural heritage sites.
New roads are projected to take up close to eight hectares, and existing roads currently take up about 14 hectares of space in northwest Welland.
By the end of 2020, Welland had hit a new residential development record of 519 units for the year, following previous single-year records of 474 units in 2019 and 401 units built in 2018.
Late last month, Munday said 2021 is on pace to being another busy year.
In 2021, the city is projecting about $288 million in construction value related to residential builds.
To date, this year, 347 building permits have been approved and with “a reach of other projects coming down the pipeline,” that number is expected to surpass 1,000 fully-approved units by the end of 2021, said Munday.
Over the next two decades, the city’s population of about 54,000 is expected to climb nearly a third, adding 18,640 residents, according to projections from city hall.
In a five-year forecast initiated in 2016, it was anticipated 1,454 new homes would be erected by the end of 2021 since then — but a figure of 1,724 was reached by the time 2020 concluded, said Munday.
