Green light given for development on former Schneiders meat plant in Kitchener

There's plenty of optimism surrounding the site of the former Schneiders meat plant in Kitchener.

City council unanimously passed approval for a development Monday night that will see 13 towers, residential units, retail, office, and restaurants go up.

"I really believe it's going to be one of the crown jewels of our city and of that area," said Ward 3 councillor Jason Deneault.

The former plant stood on Courtland Avenue for more than 90 years before moving out of Kitchener in 2015.

Auburn Developments will now build more than 3,300 rental units, with one, two, and three bedroom options.

"This is a win-win from council perspective, from a developer perspective, from staff perspective, and more important a win for our community," said Ward 6 councillor Paul Singh. "Thank you."

The original development proposal included 135 affordable housing units, which would cost 20 per cent less than the market average.

Staff had asked for those numbers to be increased.

The developer propose an additional 10 affordable housing units during the Monday night meeting and says he will build more in the first stage as long as construction can start in July.

The developer also promised to donate $1 million to the Working Centre.

"We go from around 9.5 per cent of our 35,000 unit target by 2031 to 11.5 per cent in just this one project," said Kitchener Mayor Berry Vrbanovic.

The development will be named The Mets after the original owner John Metz Schneider.

The build is expected to cost roughly $1 billion and create hundreds of construction jobs in the coming years.