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w at er lo oc hr on ic le .c a W at er lo o C hr on ic le | T hu rs da y, D ec em be r 26 ,2 01 9 | 4 works for the better part of the past decade, approved as part of the Northdale Land Use and Community Improvement Plan Study in 2012. Landscape architect Karen Anderson said the city is now in the detailed design phase for the development of the woonerf - a Dutch word that translates to "living street," she said. "Once constructed, this new Larch Street will be like no other street in Waterloo or the region at this time." "In a woonerf, or a shared street design, the pedestrians take priority and the vehicles or the motorists are guests on the street," Anderson explained in her presentation that featured drawings of the preferred design, which is expected to go to tender early in the new year, with con- struction commencing in May. Woonerven (plural) are com- monplace in the Netherlands, Anderson said. "They've been around since the 1970s. The streets are 100 per cent accessible with no curbs." Some councillors questioned whether some motorist would just ignore the concept and go zipping right through. Mike Lupsa, the city's senior project engineer, said there will hardly be time for drivers to speed. "I think by the time you get on this street and figure out what's going on, you're already at the other end," he said to some amusement. Anderson said the city reached out to a Netherlands- based firm with extensive design experience in woonerven for guidance and suggestions. "What we're going to present to you tonight we can say is a true woonerf," Anderson said. There will be just four drive- way accesses into nearby multi- residential developments. The curvy design doesn't even have a centre line, making vehicular right-of-way ambiguous, Ander- son noted. "And that's very intentional on this street," she said, noting that the buildings on it are be- tween four and six storeys high. "Motorists will be channeled through this curved right-of-way on this mix of materials and col- ours and textures, and it will slow the vehicles down." No on-street parking would be permitted, but short-term load- ing areas could be created that would accommodate food trucks and delivery vehicles. Coun. Jeff Henry emphasized that it's not road reconstruction. "It's a public space project that will happen to have cars come through it from time to time," ac- cording to Henry, who said it will still take people time to wrap their head around the concept. "Then that opens up other con- versations: Are there other plac- es (in) our changing city that this design and approach might lend itself to?" he said. Henry, the city's budget chair, said council released $177,000 funding for design by approving the 2019 budget, and the 2020 draft capital budget shows roughly $1.5 million for reconstruction. "I'm not sure what the actual value of the design contract was as that level of award doesn't come to council, so it could be lower or a bit higher," he said in an email. "We won't know the construction tender cost until that comes back in March- April." Planters, bollards and street light poles will protect defined pedestrian areas, but people are encouraged to be anywhere on the street, Anderson said, which will accommodate cars as well as snowplows. "We're exploring a snow melt system," Anderson added. "We're not sure it's feasible at all. We're just exploring it and included it as a provisional item in the tender, and when those items come in, we can look at that." It's anticipated that construc- tion will be completed by August, with a dedicated Instagram cam- paign expected in the new year and additional public consulta- tion that will mainly focus on street furnishings. COUNCIL Continued from page 1 'IT'S A PUBLIC SPACE PROJECT THAT WILL HAPPEN TO HAVE CARS COME THROUGH IT FROM TIME TO TIME' "They've been around since the 1970s. The streets are 100 per cent accessible with no curbs." - Landscape architect Karen Anderson Construction has commenced on a new two-storey boutique of- fice building in the city's east side at 2415 University Ave. E that will feature 30,000 square feet of office space to help meet the needs of the local and international com- panies seeking space in Waterloo. "We are encouraged by a num- ber of positive market indica- tors," said Chris Saraiva, presi- dent of Red Rock Investments Inc., in a press release, with re- gard to the decision to move for- ward with the development of the new office building on spec. "The new building will pro- vide a unique space for compa- nies looking for an alternative to the downtown office market." The site of the new building, op- posite Northfield Park and Black- Berry headquarters, provides con- venient access to individuals in Kitchener-Waterloo, and the sur- rounding areas, via Highway 85. In addition to the ease of accessibili- ty, free surface parking, an abun- dance of food, recreation facilities and service amenities in the vicin- ity will make the new building a highly attractive space for office tenants. Darren Shaw, vice president at Colliers International's Waterloo Region office, who represented Red Rock in the acquisition of the site in 2017, is also handling the leasing of the building. He com- mented that while there is great interest in the developments in downtown, particularly from technology and e-commerce companies, there is also great de- mand for suburban locations from local companies. "Office availability in the Wa- terloo Region has been in steady decline in the past few years, and lease rates are at a record high," said Shaw. "The increased rates in the area are driven by the strong demand from the technol- ogy sector, as well as financial and other business services. Red Rock's new development will add much-needed inventory to the of- fice market in the region." "The city is pleased to see for- merly city-owned land that had been targeted for employment reach its intended use. This loca- tion sits on a prime gateway into the city of Waterloo and will add to a growing employment base, sup- porting shops and other local busi- nesses in the Northfield/Universi- ty Avenue area," said Justin McFadden, the city's executive di- rector of economic development. CONTRIBUTED WHAT'S GOING ON HERE? OFFICE SPACE BEING BUILT ON SPEC DUE TO RISING RENTAL RATES Construction has commenced on a new two-storey boutique office building on the city's east side. Colliers International photo WHAT'SGOINGON WONDERING WHAT'S GOING ON SOMEWHERE IN YOUR COMMUNITY? VISIT WATERLOOCHRONICLE.CA