Niagara Falls council okays building converting into 7-unit apartment

With a few minor tweaks to the application, Niagara Falls city council gave to green light for a former commercial-residential property to convert into a seven-unit apartment.

The two-storey property at 5504 Lewis Ave. was formerly home to a commercial business on the street level – Geppino’s Food Market – with apartments directly above.

Property owner Jingfang Wang applied to have the zoning changed from Deferred Tourist Commercial, which allows business and residential on the same lot, to residential in order to turn the site into a seven-apartment unit.

Since the size of the building will not change, there was only one concern filed by a nearby resident, asking if it would affect the zoning of the existing neighbourhood. It won’t as it was requested specifically for the 5504 Lewis Ave. lot.

The planning report forwarded to city council noted, “The proposed development conforms to Provincial, Regional, and City policies as it will contribute to the minimum intensification rate of 50 per cent of all residential units constructed in the City, and will create additional housing units with a variety of unit sizes to provide housing choices for residents within the urban area.”