Thomas Street

Three-Storey 12-unit apartment building planned for Old Aylmer 

Sophie Demers 

The single-family house located at 60 rue Thomas was approved for demolition last year. At the time, the plans for the lot detailed a four-storey building with 23 units. The developer has since changed his plans and now seeks council approval for a 12-unit, three-storey building.

The lot targeted by the project is in a high preservation area where all projects are subject to the Site Planning and Architectural Integration program, which aims to ensure that the projects will integrate well into the surrounding area. The site is also located within the area covered by the Old Aylmer Urban Planning Program (PPU). According to city documents, the project complies with some of the PPU objectives, such as increasing housing supply particularly near the planned tramway stations and meeting housing demand. Gatineau says the project also meets the criteria for a car-free neighbourhood near future tramway stations.

The project includes minor variances that will need to be approved by city council during their February 17 meeting in Aylmer at the Aydelu Centre, 94 rue Patrimoine. These variances include reducing the minimum distance between a parking space and building wall from six to two metres, exempting the project from the requirement to provide underground or structured parking spaces, and reducing the minimum number of parking spaces from nine to eight.

These variances will most likely get approved, as the city has stated they plan to revise the requirements for car parking and consider the option to eliminate minimum parking spaces for residential uses.

The project analysis details the plan to incorporate characteristics of the surrounding area into the building's architecture. These characteristics include siding materials as well as “a 

feature reminiscent of a chimney at the end of the roof.”

The parking lot will be located at the back of the building and surrounded by a cedar hedge. The plans also include planting four new trees.

The house currently on the lot was built in 1956 and has no heritage value. The cost to restore the building is estimated at $101,400. The city has received multiple complaints about the building’s deterioration by residents of the neighbourhood.

The Service de l’Urbanisme et du Développement Durable (SUDD) recommends the construction.