The owner of Hespeler's Forbes Estate is seeking to preserve the property by severing the 2.45 acres from the rest of the property slated for development.
A request is being brought forward to a Wednesday committee of adjustment meeting by Polocorp Inc., a Kitchener-based developer that has proposed a subdivision for what is known as Forbes Estate, next to the Mill Pond in Cambridge's Hespeler area.
"The good news about the severance is that there's no heritage designation on the property right now," said Mike Puopolo, Polocorp Iinc. chief operating officer. "It's listed on the municipal heritage register."
That move aligns with the company's intent to preserve the estate and the land that surrounds it, he added.
"We've been on side with the designation since our first application was brought forward," said Puopolo. "The bounding box (area to be designated) has changed but we've been consistent with our messaging saying we want to preserve this heritage home."
The proposes severance will create a new residential lot with a frontage of 78.81 metres along Guelph Avenue. The total lot area will be 2.47 acres. The severed lot already contains a single-detached dwelling, known as the Forbes Estate home. No new buildings are proposed on the severed land.
The remaining land parcel is a 11.76 acre and is subject to development as proposed in a draft plan for up to 185 residential units, says the report part of the committee agenda.
The draft plan, along with a request to pursue the heritage designation, was deferred by council at its July 13 meeting.
"We would have liked on July 13 to get approval for the draft plan and the heritage designation as it was presented," said Puopolo, adding, "We hope the severance will be approved. Then we will push toward designation of that property itself."
The committee of adjustment meeting begins at 6 p.m. and is open to the public and can be viewed online via the city's YouTube channel.
