[voxpopulicosmicum]

Just went to one of Adam Vaughan's Ward 20 development proposal meetings where a a proposal do develop this property was presented.

The 40x120 ft. site, at the NW corner of Queen and McCaul, is currently home to 2-storey brick building that has a variety store on the ground floor and (presumably) residential space on the 2nd floor. The proposal was for a 5-storey building with retail uses on the first two floors, offices on the 3rd/4th floors and a single residential unit on the top floor.

The renderings showed the ground floor clad in light-coloured stone with the upper 4 floors in dark (grey) brick. The entrace for the retail would continue to be at the corner of McCaul, but there would be a roughly 10x10 ft. carve-out on the corner and an additional 5 ft. set back along McCaul (at ground level only) to create additional sidewalk space. In addition, the building would step back from Queen above the 3rd floor by about 20 ft. to respect the existing cornice line along Queen.

Interestingly, the proponent said that the owner of the adjacent building (which currently houses a Pizza Pizza) approached him about consolidating their holdings into a larger development, but the owner opted to pursue his standalone development instead.

I hope to have renderings and floor plans tomorrow.

 

[gbelan]

wow! the evolution of queen street continues.

 

[JasonParis]

Always good to see more density on one of our main avenues.

Curious, what is Vaughan's view on the proposal?

 

[voxpopulicosmicum]

Always good to see more density on one of our main avenues.

Curious, what is Vaughan's view on the proposal?

Vaughan was supportive of the proposal, but his optimism had been tempered by recent initial comments that indicated the planners have "taken an overly literal view" of the heritage preservation bylaw by objecting to the amount of glazing on the entire structure. Vaughan thinks that the heritage rules for Queen Street facades shouldn't be rigidly applied to the McCaul face of the building; the planners, it seems, disagree.

This tension is exacerbated by the fact that these two projects are apparently the first developments to test the heritage bylaw, and for that reason it will be especially difficult to get the planners to turn a blind eye to technical albeit insubstantial violations.

Obviously, Vaughan was in favour of (a) replacing a crappy looking building with a better designed / built structure (b) widening the sidewalk on McCaul (c) the setback above the 3rd storey and (d) the incorporation of a residential component (even if it's just one unit).

(Also, he does not object to motherhood, apple pie or kittens)

 

[urbandreamer]

I'd like to see the HMV/Pizza Pizza building go next--it was built only about 10 years ago and is a hideous waste of space. The only thing that bugs me about these new proposals: why do all these shiny glass facades not have some residential above them? (eg. Zara, H&M, Mexx could be 6-8 stories.)

 

[JasonParis]

I believe the new City of Toronto Act allows for minimum density rules in certain areas, so we may see mandated density in the future (that will prevent the Zara, H&M and Mexx's that you speak of).

BTW, HMV wanted a new building for their Queen St store, but the City prevented them from demolishing that questionable heritage property (which is really just a facade now anyway). I doubt it's going anywhere anytime soon.

 

[condovo]

I really like the idea of retail on the first two floors. I think that generally retail or commercial uses should occupy the first two floors at a minimum.

 

[CDL.TO]

I have a dream of becoming mayor and passing a law forcing condos on retail streets to build their condo lobbies on the second floor (or basement, I guess), giving the entire first floor over to retail space.

The difference in experience between walking past the shallow and wide retail in new condos (such as RoCP and the Met) and traditional narrow and deep retail spaces is glaring.

 

[Sir Novelty Fashion]

I have a dream in which Mayor CDL's law gets overruled at the OMB.

 

[CDL.TO]

I would have thought that only lawyer-types would have had dreams of legal wrangling at the OMB.

 

[unimaginative2]

On a major retail street, I completely agree with you, CDL. Condos are streetlife killers.

 

[current]

Photos taken January 11, all the businesses are boarded up now. Subway is still open.

 

[JasonParis]

Slightly off topic, but does anyone know if Penguin Music moved somewhere else?

 

[urbandreamer]

I know 'tis very bizarre, but www.google.com does work
http://www.penguinmusic.com/
We've moved!
Penguin has moved! We're just around the corner and west of our old location. We're now downstairs at 256A Queen Street West (opposite corner from CityTV).

 

[Mystery White Boy]

What a beauty. She will be missed.