Plans for a new apartment complex in Smiths Falls have received a mostly positive reception from the town.

The Smiths Falls planning advisory committee held a public meeting on the development of a 132-unit apartment complex via Facebook Live on Thursday, Aug. 20 at 5 p.m.

The apartment complex will be constructed at the corner of Elmsley St. S., Thurber St. and McGill St. by Kanata-based company Lepine Apartments.

“This is wonderful news to have this property developed in that it has languished there for decades and it is a beautiful piece of property,” Coun. Wendy Alford said.

The former site of the Smiths Falls Community Hospital’s South Unit has sat vacant since 1998 and was demolished in 2016. 

Concerned residents of Thurber Street provided a letter to the committee. They do not object to the principal of residential development on the site, but have some reservations about the proposed height of the building and its potential impact on their properties and the community. 

Lepine’s urban planner Don Schultz responded to these concerns by saying that the trees along the property line are already higher than the building is going to be at four-storeys. 

“I want to thank them for their interest in our town and I look forward to working with them in the future,” said Coun. Jay Brennan.

Francis Lepine invites the public to look at his company’s building in Carleton Place to get an idea of how the development will look in Smiths Falls. 

“This is my 40^th building in my career I have worked on and you will see my experience with this one,” Lepine said. 

Lepine ended the meeting by assuring the public that any contamination that was there in the past will be gone with the construction of the underground parking.

Article by Emilie Must