What You Need to Know: Updated Information on The Woolverton (development at 13 Mountain Street and 19–23 Elm Street in downtown Grimsby)

Community conversations are important, especially when it comes to projects that will shape the future of Grimsby. As discussions continue around the development at 13 Mountain Street and 19–23 Elm Street in downtown Grimsby, we want to provide residents with factual information, clarity on the process, and answers to some of the questions we’ve received through reports, meetings, and social media conversations.

What Residents Should Know About Council’s Decision

• The Woolverton is approved as a 7-storey mixed-use development at 13 Mountain Street and 19–23 Elm Street in downtown Grimsby.
• The development includes 150 rental apartments, with 10% affordable housing units, and a small amount of ground-floor retail/commercial space.
• A 7-storey approval for three of the four properties was already in place through an Ontario Land Tribunal (OLT) settlement in February 2024.
  • The Ontario Land Tribunal (OLT) is an independent adjudicative tribunal responsible for resolving appeals and applications on a variety of potentially contentious municipal and land use planning matters. OLT members are appointed by the Lieutenant Governor in Council and typically include lawyers, architects, planners and public administrators. 
• The more recent application submitted by the developer, primarily addressed the addition of 23 Elm Street and updated permissions for the full site.
• Town staff, agencies, consultants, Niagara Region, and the Niagara Escarpment Commission have reviewed the proposal, with matters such as traffic, parking, and visual impact informing the recommendation and Council decision.
• Approval of the planning applications does not finalize all design details. Further review will still occur through future site plan and heritage permit approval processes.

The timeline below outlines the key approval and review milestones for the project.

Timeline

2024

• February 2024 – Through an Ontario Land Tribunal settlement, applications for 13 Mountain Street and 19 and 21 Elm Street were approved, establishing permissions for a 7-storey building and site-specific zoning on those properties.

2025

• May 2025 – The current application/proposal was first submitted to the Town of Grimsby.
• July 2025 – The application was deemed complete, which started the legislated 120-day municipal decision timeline under the Planning Act.
• September 2025 – The legally required public meeting was held.

2026

• March 2026 – After feedback from Town staff, agencies, and the public, the developer submitted revised plans.
• April 22, 2026 – The Planning and Development Committee (PDC) meeting was held where the staff report recommending the approval of a 7-storey mixed use building, on the contiguous lands known municipally as 13 Mountain Street, 19 Elm Street, 21 Elm Street, and 23 Elm Street was heard.
• April 29, 2026 – Council referred the matter back to PDC for additional public consultation and further clarification on NEC comments, parking, and traffic. 
• May 6, 2026 – PDC received additional information through the staff memo to address the requested items.
• May 11, 2026 – Council approved the application.

How We Got Here

In February 2024, applications for 13 Mountain Street and 19 and 21 Elm Street were approved through an Ontario Land Tribunal settlement, which permitted a 7-storey building with site-specific planning permissions on those properties.

The more recent application sought additional permissions for 13 Mountain Street and 19–23 Elm Street after the owner acquired 23 Elm Street, which was not part of the original OLT approval.

While an earlier concept contemplated an 8-storey building across the four properties, the application was revised before approval to reduce the height to 7 storeys. The current decision adds to, rather than removes or replaces, permissions already established through the OLT process.

What Happens Next

The next step is for the owner to submit a site plan application, along with the required technical studies and supporting information. Site plan control is a detailed technical review process that considers matters such as site design, landscaping, access, servicing, and building layout. The application will be reviewed by Town staff and other relevant agencies, and the final site plan decision will be made by the Director of Planning and Development.

The owner has also agreed to hold a design charrette to gather public feedback on the design of the building and the surrounding outdoor space.

In addition, a heritage permit application will be required to address heritage matters, and how potential impacts will be identified and mitigated. This application will be reviewed in consultation with the Grimsby Heritage Advisory Committee and will require Council approval.

Additional Questions and Answers

Can a municipality refuse to accept an application?

No. Under the Planning Act, municipalities are required to accept and process complete planning applications. The Town cannot refuse to accept a complete application for review.

Does Council have to make a decision on an application?

The Planning Act governs land use planning in Ontario and establishes timelines for municipalities to make decisions on planning applications. If a Council does not make a decision within the timeline, an applicant may appeal to the OLT for non-decision.

Once an application is deemed complete, the legislated timelines begin. In this case, the application was deemed complete on July 25, 2025. For combined Official Plan Amendment and Zoning By-law Amendment applications, the Planning Act provides 120 days for a municipal decision. 

The legislation does not allow the timeline to pause while applicants respond to Town comments or revise supporting materials.

How is an application reviewed?

Planning applications go through a detailed and iterative review process.

When an application is submitted, it is reviewed by Town staff across multiple departments, as well as external agencies such as the Region and the Niagara Escarpment Commission. A public meeting notice is also circulated to provide information on how residents can participate in the planning process.

Comments and feedback received through technical reviews and public input are shared with the applicant, who may then revise the proposal or provide additional studies and information to address concerns. This process may occur over multiple rounds of review.

Once staff and agencies are satisfied that the application has addressed outstanding matters, staff prepare a recommendation report for Planning and Development Committee and, ultimately, Council for a decision.

Staff evaluate applications against Provincial policies, Provincial plans, Regional and Town Official Plans, and other applicable planning policies to provide a professional recommendation grounded in planning policy and legislation.

The Planning Act recognizes that Official Plans are not static documents and allows municipalities to consider amendments to the Plan to accommodate development proposals that meet its intent.

What is a planner’s role?

Professional planners are required to make recommendations that are in the public interest.

The public interest involves balancing social, economic, environmental, and long-term community considerations – not simply responding to the loudest or most immediate viewpoints. Planning decisions must consider both current and future residents and the evolving needs of the community.

Good planning supports a range of housing types, family sizes, incomes, transportation options, services, and land uses. The goal is to help create complete communities – places that provide equitable access to housing, jobs, transportation, services, public spaces, and meet the daily needs for people of all ages and abilities.

What about parking?

The Town is currently undertaking a comprehensive Downtown Parking Study to review existing and future parking needs.

The study is exploring updated parking management policies and preliminary design concepts aimed at improving the downtown parking system, including:

• Enhancing existing parking areas
• Increasing public parking supply where appropriate
• Improving pedestrian accessibility
• Improving lighting, landscaping, signage, and overall aesthetics

More information is available through the Town’s Let’s Talk Grimsby page for the Strategic Parking Management Study.

How many parking spaces will be included in the development and how was it calculated?

The development will include 154 parking spaces on site:

• 147 spaces dedicated to residential units
• 7 spaces for visitor and commercial use

Parking requirements are established through the Zoning By-law. Applicants may submit parking studies to justify alternative parking rates based on the nature and location of the development.

Under the Planning Act, municipalities may also accept cash-in-lieu of parking where a development cannot accommodate all required spaces on-site.

In this case, the applicant will provide all required residential parking spaces, supported by a parking study that was peer reviewed by the Town. Cash-in-lieu of parking will be collected for the remaining 20 visitor/commercial parking spaces. These funds must be used toward parking improvements in the surrounding area.

What does cash-in-lieu of parking mean?

Cash-in-lieu of parking is a planning tool that may be used when some parking spaces are not provided on-site. It does not create designated or reserved public parking spaces for a particular development. Instead, it supports use of the broader public parking system already available in the area.

Funds collected through cash-in-lieu are typically reinvested into parking-related improvements in the surrounding area. This may include increasing parking capacity, improving pedestrian accessibility, upgrading lighting and landscaping, and enhancing signage. Additional parking spaces created through these improvements would remain publicly accessible.

How did the Town determine the cash-in-lieu parking rate?

The Town reviewed cash-in-lieu parking rates from comparable municipalities to establish an appropriate range. Across the eight municipalities reviewed, the average rate was approximately $21,000 per parking space.

Why is the Town using surface parking costs instead of structured parking costs?

The Town’s Downtown Parking Study found that there is currently adequate parking capacity in the downtown area, including for anticipated short-term growth.

The study identified that parking pressures may emerge over the medium term (approximately 10 years) and recommended improving access to existing and enhanced surface parking areas as the preferred approach during that timeframe.

At this stage, the study does not identify an immediate need for a structured parking facility.

What is the role of the Niagara Escarpment Commission?

The Town works closely with the Niagara Escarpment Commission (NEC) during the review of applicable planning applications.

For this proposal, the NEC specifically reviewed the potential impacts of the development on views to and from the Escarpment. NEC staff advised that they were satisfied with the submitted information and will continue to work with the Town through future site plan and heritage permit processes to ensure the building remains distinguishable from, subordinate to, and compatible with the Escarpment.

Why was there a change to the community hub?

The current use of the property is retail, which is not considered a public amenity space.

The originally proposed community hub would have required a shared operating and management agreement with the Town. The applicant ultimately chose to refocus the space as a private amenity area for residents of the development.

The proposal still includes outdoor amenity areas through Privately Owned Public Spaces (POPS). Public-facing spaces along Mountain and Elm Streets are intended to create a central gathering area within the downtown while also improving visibility and appreciation of the heritage buildings on the site.

Learn More

For readers looking for more detailed background, the resources below include the staff report, staff memo, and application materials.

Read the Staff Report: Item 8.1 Planning and Development Committee - April 22, 2026

Read the Staff Memo: Item 9.1 Planning and Development Committee - May 06, 2026

Review the application materials: https://www.grimsby.ca/town-hall/official-plan-and-zoning/current-planning-applications/

If you have additional questions, please reach out to Town Staff at planning@grimsby.ca.