[AlbertC]

November Council Highlights

Councillor for Ward 4, Parkdale–High Park

www.gordperks.ca

Community Meeting to discuss development proposal at 1730 Bloor Street West

The property owners of 1730 Bloor St West, current site of strip mall and 7-11, is holding an Online Community Meeting to share preliminary plans for a 25-storey mixed-use development on this site.

Online Community Meeting Details:

Tuesday, November 14th, 6:30pm - 8:00 pm

Link to Join: bit.ly/1730bloor

Meeting ID: 835 2892 2909

Telephone Dial-in: (647) 558-0588

The meeting will be an opportunity to review a presentation as well as to ask questions and provide comments.

Councillor Perks and City Planning staff will be in attendance.

Further details are available on the attached flyer. As always, please feel free to contact Councillor Perks' Office if you have ward 4 or city-related questions or concerns.

Current view of the northwest corner of Bloor West & Indian Grove, one block east of Keele:

 

[Northern Light]

Look @AlbertC sneaking in a pre-application proposal!

Well, nothing there will be missed!

Lets have a look at the aerial pic:

Assuming this is only the address listed and excludes the gas station, you're in the area of 1230m2 or 13200ft2.

You're nearest complete build is 14s as precedents go; but an application just to the east seeks 19s.

The view from here would include High Park on both the south and west frontages, though the latter may be impeded by any development of the gas station site.

Configured as one site, this is a single-tower proposal, but combined with the gas station it could easily be a two-tower site.

****

Shadowing to the north and east and west strikes me, on superficial observation to be of low concern

I can see the 25s ask here; though I consider that upper bounds based on precedent. '

I would expect opposition, given the same for the 19s to the east, but it seems sound, larger is probably unrealistic.

****

Interesting considerations: Opportunity to fund improvements to Keele Station as a community benefit, including a glass wall on the EB platform over Keele providing a view of High Park.

Also a good opportunity to invest in improvements in High Park.

 

[Undead]

Also a good opportunity to invest in improvements in High Park.

And the Bloor cycling tracks.

 

[Northern Light]

And the Bloor cycling tracks.

Cycle Track is nominally in place today, here; though in the temporary form (pre road reconstruction)

Sidewalk reconstruction is routinely required for development sites such as this, having that include raised cycle track is feasible and low cost, when pursued with the sidewalk work.

 

[junctionist]

It's awesome to see this strip plaza finally bite the dust. These suburban plazas with parking in front have no place on any avenue in the pre-amalgamation city of Toronto, let alone next to a subway station.

 

[Towered]

About ******* time.

 

[Mount Dennis Resident]

The TTC may need to have the 80 QUEENSWAY bus, currently looping in Keele Station, to loop at High Park Station. The 189 STOCKYARDS already passes Keele Station on the way to loop at High Park Station. The Keele Station needs to be expanded.

How about creating space for buses (and streetcars) using the first couple of "floors", and building up from there? Like they did at the McCaul loop.

 

[junctionist]

The TTC may need to have the 80 QUEENSWAY bus, currently looping in Keele Station, to loop at High Park Station. The 189 STOCKYARDS already passes Keele Station on the way to loop at High Park Station. The Keele Station needs to be expanded.

How about creating space for buses (and streetcars) using the first couple of "floors", and building up from there? Like they did at the McCaul loop.
View attachment 521006

The TTC has so many subway stations where they could sell the air rights and incorporate the surface route loops this way. It's unfortunate that they don't pursue the idea given the demand for housing in the city and the need to better fund the transit system. Not only would they get more money in selling air rights but also more riders with the added density.

 

[Mount Dennis Resident]

A river runs under it. They'll have to dig down deep to get to strong foundations. The area used to be a city dump. Caused problems with the old Keele Street Public School, that they had to tear it down and build a new one.

 

[Northern Light]

A river runs under it. They'll have to dig down deep to get to strong foundations. The area used to be a city dump. Caused problems with the old Keele Street Public School, that they had to tear it down and build a new one.View attachment 521031View attachment 521033View attachment 521034
View attachment 521029

Walter is correct in his description here, though the maps above are a bit challenging to read, so I have borrowed one from Lost Rivers:

Source: http://www.lostrivers.ca/disappearing.html

The Green indicates that this portion of what we now call Spring Creek was buried between 1913-1918

The creek itself isn't super high flow and is piped, there's a manageable work around.

More challenging is the Artesian water table here.

Source:

This is a very high volume and high pressure water supply. You really don't want to mess w/that.

The image above might lead you to believe that there wouldn't be an impact on the corner at Keele. I can't say for sure. But I would look at the most easterly black dot, and note that when that was pierced there was a wee bit of flow.

This gives you an idea of the relative quantities involved (same source as above)

 

[jmi22]

The TTC has so many subway stations where they could sell the air rights and incorporate the surface route loops this way. It's unfortunate that they don't pursue the idea given the demand for housing in the city and the need to better fund the transit system. Not only would they get more money in selling air rights but also more riders with the added density.

Yep, the Bathurst Stn loop is practically the only 'greenfield' left in the core when you look at what the majority of the land actually is. Very ridiculous that such a cash strapped agency is not trying to make money off their prime real-estate. Maybe each loops land profit could be used to modernize the switches for the respective line it serves? Maybe even build a Right of Way for the 511 on Bathurst south of Queen? i'm dreamin

 

[jmi22]

On a more related note, this strip of Bloor is shaping up with a really nice fine grain row of high rises, a breath of fresh air from the super blocks we usually get. Waiting to see what gets proposed on the gas station, i'm guessing it will push for 30s considering local precedent and sitting on two avenues.

 

[Northern Light]

The TTC has so many subway stations where they could sell the air rights and incorporate the surface route loops this way. It's unfortunate that they don't pursue the idea given the demand for housing in the city and the need to better fund the transit system. Not only would they get more money in selling air rights but also more riders with the added density.

While I don't disagree, it's important to note that the TTC did, in fact lease air rights at Wellesley Station, Bloor-Yonge, St. George, St. Clair, Eglinton, Lawrence, Bay and Dundas West (Crossways is on a lease from TTC, at least in part) .

Most of the deals are pretty low-yield at this point, as leases were generally 75 years and baseline in the 1950/60s was very low by today's standards (the leases do generally have escalator clauses).

Canada Square (2180 Yonge)'s redevelopment proposal involved bumping lease payments to TTC.

There are more proposals coming, I highlighted a few in the TTC Catch-All thread.

This includes a rebuild at Wellesley, among other things; also Warden and Islington will see on-site residential.

Bathurst Station Loop is not on the list......

It does have a decent size total area, if a highly irregular shape; but it has some real challenges to it. if you're going to over the existing platform, you need new structural supports, on the west side those would probably have to go into the parkette.

The sheer wall next to the SFH to east would get some howling objections. I think there's something workable there, but it wouldn't be my 1st or 2nd choice site in their inventory.

Likewise, Keele has some real hassles to it. You have to get your new building saddled over the existing station and tracks, and that leaves the support columns in what is now the bus driveway.

 

[christiesplits]

Happy to see that dull strip mall gone sitting kitty corner to arguably Toronto's most iconic park. Those views on the upper floors will be spectacular.