Cookies help us to understand how you use our website so that we can provide you with the best experience when you are on our site. To find out more, read our privacy policy and cookie policy.
A cookie is information stored on your computer by a website you visit. Cookies often store your settings for a website, such as your preferred language or location. This allows the site to present you with information customized to fit your needs. As per the GDPR law, companies need to get your explicit approval to collect your data. Some of these cookies are ‘strictly necessary’ to provide the basic functions of the website and can not be turned off, while others if present, have the option of being turned off. Learn more about our Privacy and Cookie policies. These can be managed also from our cookie policy page.
Skip To
Page Outlines
Loading...
IE10 and below are not supported.
Contact us for any help on browser support
Welcome to the Online Engagement for the Baker District Redevelopment!
The Urban Design Master Plan shows how all the elements of the Baker District—residential, commercial, parking and open space—fit together and connect.
Land Acknowledgement
In planning for the redevelopment of this area of Guelph, we are reminded that Guelph is situated on treaty land that is steeped in the rich history of Indigenous Peoples and home to many First Nations, Inuit and Métis people today.
As a City we have a responsibility for the stewardship of the land on which we live and work.
We acknowledge the Mississaugas of theContinue reading
Welcome to the Online Engagement for the Baker District Redevelopment!
The Urban Design Master Plan shows how all the elements of the Baker District—residential, commercial, parking and open space—fit together and connect.
Land Acknowledgement
In planning for the redevelopment of this area of Guelph, we are reminded that Guelph is situated on treaty land that is steeped in the rich history of Indigenous Peoples and home to many First Nations, Inuit and Métis people today.
As a City we have a responsibility for the stewardship of the land on which we live and work.
We acknowledge the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation of the Anishinaabek Peoples on whose traditional territory the Baker District Redevelopment will be built.
Building a Better Food Future:
Windmill Developments is thrilled to present the video series, “Sowing Change,” which explores the question: What does it take to build a better food future?
In partnership with the City of Guelph, Windmill is developing a model sustainable community in the heart of downtown Guelph, called the Baker District. Unique to this project is a focus on making the Baker District a community that promotes and celebrates local and sustainable food.
Guelph has a thriving food community that the Baker District aims to strengthen and support. Through the Sowing Change video series, Windmill intends to shine a spotlight on leaders within Guelph’s food community who are helping to create a more sustainable, accessible and resilient food system. Together, we will explore how we can build a better food system in Guelph and across Canada.
Imagine a food system where there’s no such thing as waste and where every resident has access to the healthy, nutritious food they need. Sound too good to be true? Not for the City of Guelph. In this interview with Barb Swartzentruber of Our Food Future, learn more about how the City of Guelph is actively building Canada’s first circular food economy.
Baker District Redevelopment Overview
We’re transforming the existing Baker Street municipal parking lot and adjacent properties into a compact district nestled in Guelph’s historic core that will create a renewed area of activity, commerce and civic space for the local community and city.
This welcoming and publicly-accessible integrated civic hub—known as Baker District—is anchored by a new central Guelph Public Library and outdoor urban square, and features residential units, commercial and institutional space, and public parking.
As a landmark city-building initiative, the Baker District redevelopment further revitalizes our downtown and—by extension—improves our entire city’s economic and social prosperity.
This means:
The project also contributes to Guelph’s growth target: a population of 191,000 people and an employment base of 101,000 jobs by 2041. Specifically, the City’s Official Plan has Guelph’s downtown being planned to achieve a density target of 150 people and jobs combined per hectare by 2031 and to be a focus for high density employment, residential development, public infrastructure and services, and multimodal transportation.
For more information about the project, visit guelph.ca/bakerdistrict
Watch the presentation and ask any questions you have here.
The Baker District includes two residential towers; 11 and 14 storeys with about 295–315 units in total. At least 12 per cent of the units are planned to be affordable housing. As outlined in the Urban Design Master Plan, there will be 31 affordable units available: 26 one-bed, and five one-bed or two-bed. The housing options presented include ownership and rental (or a mix of). As the Baker District project is a public-private partnership, only affordable, not social, housing units are included.
Wellington County, as the lead social service agency for Guelph, leads social housing initiatives. The City and the County work closely together, through the Mayor’s Taskforce on Permanent Supportive Housing, to create other housing options in our community. Since COVID-19, our partnerships have strengthened and together we are advocating to other levels of government for funding and supports to improve social housing options in the Guelph area.
Guelph has a citywide 30 per cent affordable housing target (25 per cent ownership, 1 per cent affordable primary rental and 4 per cent affordable secondary rental). We recognize the need to have affordable housing choices throughout the city and there are a number of private and not-for-profit housing projects in the development stage looking to address all levels of need, and not only housing options at 80 per cent of market rent.
Our Strategic Plan: Guelph. Future ready. sets clear directions for the City to help increase the availability of housing that meets our community’s needs. This includes advocating for increased funding from federal and provincial governments, and working with partners to create smart programs and policies that enable more people to obtain housing in Guelph.
Windmill will look into making some form of accommodation for The Bench Project. We were not previously aware of its existence but fully support local community initiatives under our One Planet Living principles. The new public square could accommodate similar opportunities with the added benefit of additional community focused resources; however programming of the square will be under the sole control of the City’s Parks Department.
Our shared goal with the City is to increase connectivity of the Baker District to the surrounding downtown at all access points.
We also consider pedestrian access from the south to be very important and have designed for a new southern gateway into the Baker District as best we can within the parcels of our domain. The design considers a framework for future improvements by the city to complete these elements through their own capital improvements along Chapel Lane and possible future land acquisitions.
At the same time, one of the City’s goals for the project is to help anchor the North part of the Downtown core along Wyndham with the new library. A core idea is to help enliven the beautiful historic buildings and their uses along Wyndham by drawing pedestrian and bike traffic North to the new urban square and library. As a result, fostering the revitalization of Wyndham Street is a major factor in the design considerations.
Thank you for your positive feedback. The height of the buildings are limited by the City’s zoning by-laws.
Library Lane is not the official name for the new road but simply a place holder so that the numerous people involved with the development have a common reference. The final name will be selected in consultation with the City of Guelph.
While the original scope of the project envisioned by the City of Guelph included the redevelopment of the parking lot at the rear of the Dominion Trust Building, which is owned by Wellington County, mutually agreeable terms for the integration of that parking into the overall development site could not be agreed between the parties resulting in the current design. There is flexibility built into the current site plan so that the area could be integrated into the development in the future should the parties come to an agreement to do so.
Your feedback on how the affordable housing portion of the residential development is appreciated. Windmill envisages a mixed-use model similar to what you propose. This is however a private sector project that will rely on support/grants from government and non-government agencies to deliver the affordable component. Windmill also has to balance all its desired social and environmental goals and objectives derived from the One Planet Living model to achieve a successful outcome for all parties.
The height and massing of the buildings has already been approved by the City of Guelph and forms part of the Secondary Plan for the downtown. Windmill’s design is in compliance within these parameters and is not seeking additional density or height from what has already been approved by the City following a full public engagement process. In fact, the original massing plan proposed by the City in the RFP document showed the north tower on a north-south axis with its longest façade facing Yarmouth Street. Our current proposal rotates the building 90 degrees to an east-west orientation with its shortest façade facing Yarmouth which will allow considerably more daylight penetration to your building than would have been the case had we followed the original massing design.
Parking is being relocated underground to replace the current public parking on the surface lot. This public parking component will serve downtown businesses as well as library patrons. Retail uses are limited to the ground floor of the south building in order to animate the street and provide some services for the new residents.
The library, urban square and public parking below grade will all be owned by the city. The residential tower above will be set back and separated architecturally from the library podium and will have its own separate entrance from Baker Street.
Windmill committed to building up to 12% affordable housing with suitable financial support from various levels of government and non-government grants and incentives. If there are enough grants and incentives to build more than 12% of the residential units as affordable, Windmill will give that serious consideration. In Windmill’s commitment to the ten principles of One Planet Living, we are also balancing other social priorities and environmental requirements that are part of the development. Since we haven’t yet determined who the affordable housing provider will be it is premature to comment on how that component would be managed.
It is beyond Windmill’s scope to comment on future uses of the existing library property. That decision will be made by the City and/or the Library Board.
The Baker District will be a complete community, providing both rental and condominium units and will provide housing that serves a range of income levels with various unit types. The diverse population will add to the downtown population base and thus meet the City’s desire to revitalize the downtown and its businesses. Adding new housing to the downtown will create more supply so that the increasing demand does not drive up prices and thus maintains affordability in this market.
We anticipate a net gain of Downtown parking spaces upon completion of the development. The development will be adding new outdoor spaces along the new east-west road and we have planned for two levels of below grade parking extending under the footprint of the entire development site. The final number of parking stalls will be determined at the time the final construction drawings are approved by the City and Windmill.
The RFP and the original plan did assume the inclusion of the County parking lot land but currently the County is not willing to be part of the development. The current plan has been designed with the flexibility to include the parking lot as part of the project in the future should the situation change and several options have been examined to demonstrate how it could be incorporated into the urban design when circumstances permit.
We’re happy to hear you’re encouraged by the Baker District’s focus on Food, Carbon and Transportation—we’re excited about it, too. Near the end of the summer, we will be publishing the Baker District’s sustainability plan, called the One Planet Living Action Plan. This Plan outlines our desired sustainability outcomes for the site and how we intend to achieve those outcomes (i.e. specific strategies and performance requirements). Generally speaking, however, our objectives for Food, Carbon and Transportation are as follows:
Food
Promote sustainable, humane farming and healthy diets that are high in local, seasonal, organic food and vegetable protein.
Carbon
Make buildings energy efficient and supply all energy with renewables.
Transportation
Reduce the need to travel, and encourage walking, cycling and low carbon transport.
Stay tuned for the release of the Baker District’s One Planet Living Action Plan, where you’ll find further information about the specific sustainability strategies the District will strive to achieve.
Project Manager, Special Projects, City of Guelph
Chief Executive Officer, Guelph Public Library
Phone | 519 824 6220 x224 |
skraft@guelphpl.ca |
Windmill Development Group
Phone | 416-929-5264 x 201 |
alex@windmilldevelopments.com |
"Where we have been"
In this phase we will provide the background and history on the project, introduce the project team and set the stage for future conversations about the Baker District Redevelopment.
"Where we are"
In this phase we will be entering into deeper conversations with the community about the goals for the Baker District and Library.
"Where we are going"
In this phase we will share the preliminary Baker District Urban Design Master Plan and Library program with the community to ensure we are on the right track.
Council Chambers, City Hall, 6 p.m.
"Where we are going"
In this phase we will present the refined Baker District Urban Design Master Plan, final library program and concept design to the community.
Watch the online presentation about the Urban Design Master Plan and ask questions or share your comments by June 30. We’ll answer your questions publicly on our site for everyone’s benefit.