Letter to the Editor
To the Editor:
With regard to the controversy over the height and size of one of the buildings at the proposed seniors complex, I am not a neighbouring resident and have no standing to opine on what is a re-zoning matter.
My comments will be more general in nature. The proposed complex would be, by attrition, similar to those recently built in Collingwood and Owen Sound. They are impressive, but they are very expensive to live in, and do nothing to address the lack of affordable housing for seniors who do not have substantial financial assets. The private sector will never again provide affordable housing for limited-means seniors, it will have to be publicly funded.
High occupancy costs are what private sector developers want (and need), in order to maximize return on investment, and this is understandable. A huge part of the the high initial cost of development is service cost in water, sewer, electricity infrastructure, plus the understandably higher standards of today’s construction environment.
We’ve seen many many “proposed” Meaford developments go nowhere in recent years, probably because no development takes place any more until 60% or more of the proposed units are pre-sold.
This is how financing gets approved, and without that pre-sold aspect, it cannot proceed.
Note: I still have seen no recent figures on Meaford’s actual water and sewage capacity as it relates to all “proposed” development. The situation must surely be of concern to someone. All recent councils have pretty much endorsed every single proposed development that comes forward.
Is this blanket-approval process realistic?
Mike Robertson, Meaford
