New businesses coming to King William Street

UPDATE: New Urban Retail’s Jamie Chisholm is the consultant hired by Effort Trust, which has a stake in the Huntsville Place Mall, to aid in the development of the King William Street properties. Talks with Kentucky Fried Chicken are ongoing but there’s still no definitive plan as to which tenants will occupy the drive-thru restaurant and the commercial retail unit (CRU).

Businesses on King William Street are about to get new neighbours. A retail store and drive-thru restaurant are being proposed on a parcel of land between the Huntsville Place Mall and Comfort Inn.

The lands are already zoned for commercial use and will comprise the merger of two lots – 82 and 84 King William Street. Preliminary drawings with the site plan application submitted to the Town’s June 15 Planning Committee show Kentucky Fried Chicken as the drive-thru fast food restaurant and “CRU” as the retail store, but Manager of Planning Services Kirstin Maxwell told committee the tenants have yet to be confirmed.

Councillor Bob Stone raised concerns about traffic flows at the King William and Rogers Cove intersection. Currently, the new tenants on the property would use the same exit onto the King William Street intersection as Comfort Inn and the adjacent plaza.

I have great concern. I’ve heard from one of the constituents in the area that this is going to increase the traffic at that intersection greatly.Huntsville Councillor Bob Stone

Councillor Bob Stone suggested an additional exit onto King William Street would help with traffic flow. “It makes sense to me that there be an exit onto King William on the bottom part of that property,” Stone said. “So at least if they go in at that (King William) intersection there won’t be a lineup of cars trying to get out. They can actually get out and go towards the downtown.”

Maxwell told committee the subject land would have access to the Huntsville Place Mall parking lot and be able to use the same two entrances mall patrons currently use. She also indicated that she did not think the District Municipality of Muskoka, who has responsibility for King William Street, would be amenable to creating another exit/entrance onto the same property. She said she has yet to receive comment from the District on the proposal and agreed to take the traffic issue back to District for consultation.

In terms of the design of the building, Maxwell’s report states that although the municipality does not have design guidelines for commercial development, “through discussions with the applicant, the elevations of the building have been modified to include more natural products and less vibrant colouring.” Maxwell also said the landscaping being proposed will “blend well with existing landscaping along the King William Street sidewalk and will provide for a more pleasant pedestrian corridor. The majority of the existing large coniferous trees along the rear and side lot lines are located on the property line, and will be maintained, as will a fence.”

Committee approved the site plan conditional on the two lots merging in title and all drawing being submitted to the satisfaction of the Town’s Manager of Planning and that the District be consulted on an additional exit onto King William Street.