Grand River Rocks time in new home is limited
Grand River Rocks will have limited time in their new home on Victoria Street North, after Kitchener City Council officially approved the rezoning of the property to allow for a condo development.
Council voted in favour of the development at 236-264 Victoria Street North during a special meeting on Monday. The proposed project will feature two towers, 35 and 40 storeys tall, with 1,076 residential units and commercial use. The owner, Falco Group, agreed to provide 32 affordable units priced under the CMHC Affordable Housing criteria, but if council turned down the project, and the developer went to the Ontario Land Tribunal, the developer could remove the concession for affordable units.
The proposed development would have two towers and 1,076 residential units. (Source: City of Kitchener)
Falco Group has commited to allow GRR to complete its five-year lease over the next four years, ending in June 2028.
“In this case here, they require a record of site condition, and the applicant has indicated to council and to the tenant that they do not plan on doing any grading, or site work, or construction, prior to June 2028,” Craig Dumart, senior city planner with the City of Kitchener said.
Grand River Rocks is still in the process of moving its Borden Avenue Street location to the old LA Fitness building on Victoria Street North. It has specialized climbing walls coming from Bulgaria in the coming weeks and expects to open the site sometime in June.
A sign advertises a development application on Victoria Street North at the new home of Grand River Rocks home. (Colton Wiens/CTV Kitchener)
The climbing gym agrees housing is needed, but they were unaware of the development plans when they signed a five-year lease.
"We were led to believe that if there were plans for developments, they hadn't been pursued yet," Scot Hamill, co-owner of Grand River Rocks, said. "Had we known that at the time, we probably would have negotiated differently or made a lot of different decisions," Hamill said.
Despite plans to still open on Victoria Street North, the climbing gym is already working on finding a future home.
"We've already been approached by potentially somebody who may have our future home in the next five, six or seven years. But right now, we're keeping our options open and we're definitely planning for the move," Hamill said.
Options for climbing
Currently Grand River Rocks has two locations. The Borden location in Kitchener has taller walls with options for lead and top rope climbing, which will also be at the new Victoria location. Their other gym in Waterloo only offers rope-free climbing on shorter walls, called bouldering.
Members said they want the different options in the community.
“Once you have a taste for lead climb and top roping like this, bouldering is not even close in any way,” member Sarah Grauer said.
Another member, Malu Rocha, said the facility is important for training.
“I go on trips to lead climb actual rock, and if I didn’t have the training facility then I probably wouldn’t be able to do that,” Rocha said.
Member Greg Leno would also miss the options if they weren't there.
“The older you get, the harder it is on your joints and your muscles, so we tend to do a little bit of bouldering, but mostly do lead and top rope,” Leno said.
Financially, Grand River Rocks isn’t worried about needing to find a new home in the coming years. They say they might be operating a little leaner than usual for the near future, but hope wherever they go they will have some kind of ownership of the property.
“We are already setting our sights on what our next big adventure is going to be,” Hamill said.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Infant dies in ATV crash, N.S. RCMP says alcohol may be a factor
An infant has died and three others, including another child, were taken to hospital following an ATV crash in Forties, N.S., on Monday.
'Do not drive': Nissan warns Canadian drivers of explosion risk impacting 48,000 vehicles
Car manufacturer Nissan has issued a do-not-drive warning for some older vehicles equipped with Takata airbag inflators, due to the risk of explosion during a crash.
WATCH LIVE Charges against world's top golfer Scottie Scheffler dropped after arrest outside PGA Championship
Criminal charges against Scottie Scheffler have been dismissed, ending a legal saga that began with images of the world’s top male golfer being arrested and handcuffed in Louisville during the PGA Championship.
'Scandals and secrets': On board the world's most exclusive private residential ship
It’s a floating city exclusively home to the 1 per cent, a playground for multimillionaires and billionaires that circumnavigates the world's oceans.
How Trump's hush money trial verdict could affect the 2024 election
Here is how three potential outcomes from the jury room ─ a guilty verdict, an acquittal or a hung jury ─ could affect the presidential campaign.
Tessa Virtue reveals she's expecting her first child. Here's what Canadians had to say
Canadian figure-skating icon Tessa Virtue is expecting her first child, she revealed via social media Tuesday.
An Iceland volcano starts erupting again, spewing lava into the sky
A volcano in southwestern Iceland erupted Wednesday for the fifth time since December, spewing red streams of lava in the latest display of nature’s power and triggering the evacuation of the popular Blue Lagoon geothermal spa.
'Are you driving?' U.S. man with suspended licence shows up on court Zoom call while behind the wheel
A Michigan man with a suspended driver's licence didn't appear to have thought through a recent court appearance made on video, joining the Zoom call while driving.
Heat-related monkey deaths are reported in several Mexican states
Heat-related howler monkeys deaths in Mexico have been recorded in a total of four states, environmental authorities said.