Indwell intends to move forward with a proposed build at 353 George St. following a decision by the Ontario Land Tribunal (OLT).
Earlier this year, Indwell appealed a City of Sarnia refusal for a minor variance application to allow a five-storey, 35-unit apartment building.
The Committee of Adjustment refused the application, claiming overdevelopment of the site, which is located between Mitton Street North and Mackenzie Street North.
In a report issued on November 3, the OLT found the requested variances do not result in overdevelopment and ruled in Indwell's favour.
Flourish President Graham Cubitt, who heads the development arm of Indwell, said he's thankful for the outcome.
"With the project being in compliance with the zoning, we'll be able to move forward with site plan approval and put the rest of the pieces in place for the building design," Cubitt told Sarnia News Today. "It means that we now can make sure our focus is on actually getting the designs ready for building permit and getting the project fully funded so that we can get it built as quickly as possible."
Cubitt said they're still reviewing the fine print of the OLT's decision.
While the appeal was successful, the OLT cited a condition for the applicant to enter an agreement with the city to allow reduced parking spaces for the proposed build.
Cubitt said they hope to have shovels in the ground in 2027 and construction will likely take about 12 months.
"There was obviously, a little bit of a pause in fundraising and some of the applications for Build Canada Homes funding due to the delays from the OLT," he said. "Now that we have the OLT ruling, we are very confident that the community support will ramp back up."
Response to the proposed project hasn't all been positive. Safety concerns have been raised multiple times by some community members in the area.
Cubitt said they've revised designs and tried to address concerns.
"We also know that homelessness and housing was a big issue in the municipal election and it was very clear that people are looking for solutions," he said. "We know that in places where Indwell has built this kind of housing in the past... homelessness goes down, people's lives stabilize and improve, the overall situation is better for everybody."
The project is described as supportive and affordable housing. However, Cubitt said according to the OLT, there's no need to have a different definition in the bylaw in order to move forward with this project.
Originally, Indwell had planned to build a 50-unit apartment building at the George Street site, which was donated by the County of Lambton in 2025.
