The owner of a 128-unit rental townhouse complex in Peterborough has filed an appeal to the Ontario Land Tribunal (OLT) after a recent decision by city council to deny an application to convert the complex into condominiums.

City councillor Matt Crowley, in whose ward the townhouse complex is located, told kawarthaNOW last week that he had learned from city staff that an appeal had been made.

On Friday (January 23), the City of Peterborough’s strategic communications director Brendan Webley confirmed to kawarthaNOW that the city has received an OLT appeal related to the property at 700 Parkhill Road West.

Burlington-based Simple Investor Real Estate Group (SIREG) Management Inc., which owns the property, submitted a completed draft plan of condominium to the city in June 2025. On December 1, city council meeting as general committee held a public meeting under the Planning Act where they considered a staff report that recommended council reject the draft plan.

At that meeting, council voted to support the staff recommendation, subsequently ratifying that decision at a city council meeting on December 8. Both votes carried by a unanimous vote of 11-0.

SIREG purchased the property, otherwise known as Parkhill Place, four years ago. It consists of 10 two-storey residential townhomes comprising 128 three-bedroom units. In its application to the city to convert the rental units to condominiums, SIREG noted it would continue to maintain the property but sell the three-bedroom units to private investors, with existing tenants continuing to rent the units from the new owners.

That said, existing tenants would be given the right of first refusal to purchase, at a price of $409,000 according to the city staff report on the application. That’s well above the city’s set minimum affordable threshold of $311,000.

The report also noted that 40 per cent of the units at Parkhill Place meet the provincial threshold for affordable rental housing and that, “While conversion to condominium ownership cannot force eviction of tenants and rents would continue as they are, over time it is expected that the units with affordable rents will be transition to market value as tenants turn over.”

During the December 1 public meeting, city planner Ian Walker told council that SIREG’s application, if approved, could result in the potential long-term loss of 17 per cent of the city’s stock of three-bedroom rental units. He noted the application doesn’t guarantee continued affordable rent rates or affordable purchase prices for the units.

Four Parkhill Place residents spoke before council prior to the vote being taken, with all four noting a poor landlord response to pressing maintenance and repair needs.

SIREG founder and CEO Todd Slater also spoke before council at the December 1 public meeting, stating that his company’s previous condo conversions hadn’t affected residents, noting a resident can only be evicted for non-payment of rent. He added rents can only be increased in line with provincial guidelines.

Slater said his company is aware of repairs needed at the townhouse complex, but said many of the repairs were the result of poor maintenance by the previous owner and that his company hadn’t had the opportunity complete all the repairs during the time it has owned the property.

Following general committee’s decision at the December 1 public meeting to deny the application, SIREG lawyer Jasdeep Dhillon spoke to council on December 8. He said the purchase cost of units for existing tenants would meet the city’s minimum affordable threshold of $311,000, later noting there was “a good possibility” SIREG would appeal to OLT if council ratified its earlier decision.

Among the Parkhill Place tenants who spoke before council during the December 1 public meeting was Jennifer Lacey, a Parkhill Place resident for eight years. She presented council with the results of a tenant survey that found that, of the 47 tenants who responded, 66 per cent are living there because of affordability and 72 per cent would not be eligible for a mortgage if they wished to purchase their unit.

Lacey, like the other tenants who addressed council, cited her displeasure with SIREG’s response to maintenance and repair needs.

“I sent one (maintenance request) in and they (SIREG) didn’t respond for like 10 months,” she tells kawarthaNOW. “They actually responded (to my request) the day that I was delegating (before council). I think it’s because they knew I was going to be making a delegation.”

“When they (SIREG) did the engineering study, there was a picture of a broken step in the basement of a unit. That study was done in January 2025. That wooden step was still broken in November 2025. So my concern is if they fail to complete recommended repairs that are in the engineering study, what’s the recourse?”

And then there’s the affordability concern.

“A lot of the tenants have lived here for decades, and some of them pay maybe $1,100 a month for a three-bedroom townhouse. Will rent be increased because of the condo conversion? If this was converted, I can’t get evicted, but if I move out and somebody else came in, they won’t have that same protection.”

Councillor Crowley says, after receiving city staff input and talking directly to Parkhill Place residents, it was clear to him which way to vote on the application.

“It was pretty clear that the right thing to do was to deny this,” he says. “I think a lot of it is fear of the unknown. A lot of residents had a lot of anxiety surrounding this entire process. The residents there are really upset about the lack of maintenance … things that are in disrepair.”

“Also, talking to residents, there was a real fear of displacement and the potential for a lack of affordability. There were promises made that rent isn’t going to increase — ‘We’re not going to kick you out, we’re not going to evict you’ — but along with that was what residents were telling me about repair problems that have been ongoing in many units over a long period of time.”

“I think there’s a lack of trust there between the residents and the owner. That really affected how council looked at the entire situation, along with staff’s recommendations. If you hear that a (building) owner isn’t even doing basic maintenance, that doesn’t instill a lot of confidence.”

While reluctant to offer an opinion on how the city would fare on this matter before OLT, councillor Crowley notes “We (city council) made our decision based on the best information that we had in front of us.”

Meanwhile, Lacey says if there’s a silver lining to be found in the process, it can be found in city council’s reception of her, and her neighbours’, concerns.

“I’m a lifetime renter and I’ve never felt so validated regarding my housing before,” she says, adding “I felt seen and heard as a tenant.”

While proud of her active role in the process, Lacey is wary that her speaking out publicly may have ramifications.

“There’s a power imbalance between landlords and tenants. Part of my very nervousness (with speaking before city council) is ‘Am I putting a bullseye on myself?'”

“There are probably a lot of tenants who should take their landlord to the Landlord and Tenant Board. That’s the best recourse, but with that power imbalance, and paying less rent than a lot of people in Peterborough, that can be scary. I’ve always felt you can’t have affordable housing and up-to-date maintenance. It’s either one or the other.”

As for the OLT appeal, a case number has not yet been assigned as of the date of this story.

“The case will appear on the case status service once the appeal is received and processed by the tribunal, which, depending on the volume of appeals received at a given time, may take a number of weeks,” reads the OLT website.

With files from Bruce Head.

A proposed 17-storey mixed-use building on Crescent Street behind the Art Gallery of Peterborough could climb to 20 storeys according to a city staff report that will be presented during city council’s general committee meeting on Monday (January 26).

During that meeting, which will also serve as a public meeting under the Planning Act for official plan and zoning by-law amendments for the proposed development, councillors will consider a report from Blair Nelson, the city’s commissioner of infrastructure, planning, and growth management.

Ashburnham Realty originally announced in 2018 that it was planning a 12-storey development of luxury condos and rental apartments on Crescent Street, after purchasing a number of properties along Crescent Street and Lake Street.

In 2024, that plan changed to a proposed 15-storey apartment building with 218 units and 218 parking spaces in a parking structure and then, in October 2025, to a 17-storey building with up to 225 units and at least 465 square metre commercial floor space.

Nine existing properties located along Crescent Street, Lake Street, and George Street would be included in the development: 195, 199, 203, 215, and 223 Crescent Street, 131 and 137 Lake Street, and 362 George Street South.

The originally proposed design for the 17-storey building included a portion of the second and third floor that could potentially be used as a new location for the Art Gallery of Peterborough, although city council subsequently decided not to pursue that option.

According to Nelson’s report to general committee, city staff have recommended changes to the latest submitted concept plan after working with Ashburnham Realty.

The changes include reducing massing of the tower portion, reducing the height of the podium portion from 10 storeys to eight storeys with a stepback above the fourth storey, and providing an adequate setback to abutting properties that are not part of the development to ensure that adequate grading, landscaping, and stormwater management can be implemented as part of the final design.

“Staff recommend an increased building setback of 3.0m to the parking structure to accommodate landscaping, a reduced tower floor plate area of 1,000 square metres, and flexibility for a maximum building height of 20 storeys to facilitate the tower reduced floor plate and improve compatibility with the adjacent neighbourhood,” the report states.

“The applicant has advised that they believe these changes can be accommodated,” the report adds.

The staff-recommended changes are similar to those for TVM Group’s proposed 17-storey high-rise in East City. That building was originally going to be 10 storeys but increased to 17 storeys to address concerns including the height of the podium and to increase setbacks.

“Compared to the initial 10-storey building that was contemplated by the applicant, the current 17-storey building provides greater building setbacks from the adjacent low-rise residential properties to the north allowing for greater landscaping opportunities,” stated a report from Nelson presented to general committee last August 25 during a five-hour public meeting on a zoning by-law amendment application for the TVM Group development.

“Further, the revised proposal removes massing (i.e. building height) from the rear of the building and moves it towards the street. This reduces the visual impact to the adjacent low-rise residential uses while also reducing the effect of shadowing on the closest neighbours — the shadow of a taller and narrower building moves across the ground faster than one of a shorter and wider building.”

General committee voted 7-4 in support of the zoning by-law amendment for the TVM Group development. Then, after a six-hour council meeting last September 3, council voted again 7-4 to endorse the general committee recommendation, with the same split as the general committee vote, with Mayor Jeff Leal and councillors Kevin Duguay, Lesley Parnell, Matt Crowley, Don Vassiliadis, Andrew Beamer, and Dave Haacke voting in favour and councillors Keith Riel, Gary Baldwin, Joy Lachica, and Alex Bierk voting against.

“It’s coming to other neighbourhoods,” said Northcrest resident Gavin Muir during a public delegation at that meeting, raising concerns about the precedent that approving the 17-storey building would set for the entire city. “This is going to change everything … It starts here, but it doesn’t end here.”

As for the proposed Ashburnham Realty development, Blair’s report makes similar claims about how increasing the height of the 17-storey building will be beneficial to neighbouring properties.

“These changes will help reduce the visual impact of the development to adjacent low-rise residential uses while also reducing the effect of shadowing on the closest neighbours, creating a taller tower on a smaller footprint will result in less shadow impact on adjacent properties by allowing the shadow to pass by faster.”

As for public consultation on the 17-storey version of the proposed Ashburnham Realty development, an in-person neighbourhood meeting was hosted by EcoVue Consulting Services Inc. last September 23 at the Art Gallery of Peterborough. That version of the development included the potential inclusion of the gallery in the new building.

Public concerns from that consultation echoed those of the East City development, including housing affordability, traffic impacts and parking, capacity of municipal services, and that the building height is too tall and should be reduced to 10 storeys

As with the staff report on the TVM Group development, the report on the proposed Ashburnham Realty development states the revenue that would be generated for the city, including around $9.7 million in city-wide development charges, around $400,000 in education development charges, and around $342,000 in water utility development charges.

However, the report notes the Ashburnham Realty development may be eligible for exemption from city-wide development charges as it is located in the central area, and may also be eligible for other exemptions to development charges if affordable units are included in the development.

“The construction of an intensified residential development will also increase the assessed value of the property and in turn also increase the city’s tax revenue,” the report adds, although it notes that the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC) “is unable to publicly share an initial estimate of that increase.”

Those who wish to speak to council during the public meeting must register no later than 11 a.m. on Monday. To register, complete the online application at www.peterborough.ca/delegations or call 705-742-7777 ext. 1820.

Habitat for Humanity Peterborough & Kawartha Region (Habitat PKR) is inviting the community to the grand reopening of the newly expanded Peterborough ReStore.

The grand reopening takes place from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. this Saturday (January 24) at the ReStore’s location at 300 Milroy Drive, where more than 2,000 additional square feet of space has been added to the store.

The expansion has created a dedicated area for housewares, décor, and home essentials while opening up more room in the main store for furniture, kitchens, and larger donated items.

According to Habitat PKR CEO Susan Zambonin, the expansion is in response to growing community demand.

“Over the past few years, we’ve seen a huge increase in demand for thrifted housewares and glassware, alongside affordable furniture,” Zambonin says in a media release. “This expansion allows us to have the best of both worlds — more variety for shoppers, more space to accept donations and, ultimately, more support for local families in need of affordable homes.”

At the Peterborough ReStore grand reopening celebration, visitors can enjoy cake and refreshments and enter a raffle for a $200 ReStore gift certificate.

Proceeds from ReStore sales help fund the organization’s mission to build affordable housing across the region, most recently including a newly built four-bedroom home in Fraserville in Peterborough County for a family of five — the 100th family supported by Habitat PKR.

Beyond bargain shopping and supporting affordable homeownership, Habitat ReStores play a significant role in environmental sustainability.

By selling donated furniture, décor, and household goods at its two ReStores — the Peterborough location and the Lindsay ReStore at 55 Angeline Street North in Lindsay — Habitat PKR diverted more than 300,000 items from the landfill last year.

The organization also operates a Kitchen & Home Deconstruction Program, where professionals come to donor homes and remove built-in household items such as kitchen cabinets and countertops, appliances, bathroom fixtures, doors, windows, built-in shelving, and more at no cost. Donors not only save on demolition and disposal costs, but also receive a tax receipt, and the salvaged materials are resold through ReStore locations.

Both the Peterborough and Lindsay ReStores are open Monday to Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., with donations accepted during store hours. Donors receive a $5 ReStore gift card as a thank-you.

To schedule a free pickup of larger items or to access the Kitchen & Home Deconstruction Program, email donate@habitatpkr.ca.