Former St. Denis to be converted to apartments

A plan to turn a former school on Regent Street into a 65-unit apartment to a step forward Monday when the planning committee approved the proposal.

Assuming its decision is confirmed by city council, the former Ecole St. Denis will get a new roof, and a three-storey addition, as a well as a large privacy fence and buffer area, said architect Michael Allen, representing the developer.

The roof and other changes to the exterior will allow the building, located at the corner of Regent and Hyland streets, to blend with the rest of the neighbourhood, he said. A large privacy buffer and fence will separate the building from nearby homes.

The units will be primarily two-bedrooms, Allen said, with some one-bedrooms. Each apartment will be between 700 and 1,000 square feet. While it will keep the condominium designation, the units would be rented out. They want the project designated as condos, he said, because it gives the developer advantages when dealing with the banks, and also requires whoever owns it to keep the property to maintain a higher standard.

“If you want to buy, you have to buy 65 units,” said Allen, who was last seen in Sudbury as the man behind the design to turn the former St. Joseph's Health Centre into a large condo development.

City planning staff recommended approval of the project, with a few conditions, such as closing the Regent Street entrance and maintaining a nearby stairwell, which offered access to the school from Prete Street.

But Allen asked the Regent Street entrance be maintained, suggesting the road widening that will be done as part of the project could be tailored to allow for right-hand turns only. He said residents in the area are concerned about potential problems if all the building's traffic is forced onto Hyland.
Roads director Dave Shelsted said staff recommended closing the entrance to improve traffic flow, and because there's already a set of lights at Regent and Hyland. However, he said they had no objection if traffic was restricted to right-hand turns.

Paolo Biondi, a Connaught Street resident, asked the committee what the impact on Hyland would be if Regent entrance is closed. He expressed concern that traffic on surrounding streets, including Connaught, would increase.

He also wondered why a stairwell on Prete Street that led to the former school was being kept, when residents would like to see it closed.

"And I'm sure this won't be considered,"Biondi said, "but three floors is going to ruin my view."

Allen said the developer is fine with closing the stairwell, but the city asked it remain open. And planning staff said it was an attempt to promote walkability in the area, but was OK with it being closed.

In the end, the committee voted to close the Prete stairwell, and to keep Regent Street access, as long as it's restricted to right-handed turns.