Editor’s Note – The original story accidentally attributed a quote to the wrong party. The story has been updated to reflect the properly quoted party, and more information was added.
The former Bank of Montreal building, located on King St is being redeveloped and some residents are concerned about the impact.
A pair of public participation meetings were held Wednesday night on two developments on King Street – One in the old BMO building and another in the former Gow’s Hardware building.
Cathy Peterson and James Longmire have lived behind the BMO property for over 25 years. Both share concerns about the potential changes the building will bring, one of which is parking.
“The city built a parking lot not long ago and now we hear they are leasing it, with this I’m worried the same thing could happen and there won’t be parking,” says Longmire.
Parking was a concern raised in the public meeting Wednesday night on the building, one local business owner stressed that easily accessible parking was essential for most of the downtown businesses.
Black Seal Properties had representatives at the meeting attempting to address concerns with Town of Bridgewater Development Officer, Nick Brown who called it an inherent issue with development.
“(Parking limitations are) the reality of downtown living,” said Jody Comeau, one of three partners of Black Seal Properties.
“People want to live above a coffee shop or a store.”
Other concerns included environmental impact and property encroachment. Peterson says they had long been able to use some of the property contained in the former BMO lot, but now is unsure of what this development will mean.
“Their property comes very close to ours and for the past 25 years, we have been able to use space on their lot. The parking is very tight right now and I don’t see how snow removal would be feasible.”
The development plans do show that the new building would be turned into a six-story, 19-unit residential and commercial development, and leave a five-foot space between the property line and the building if new zoning is approved.
