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Northern Light

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I'm starting a thread for this site which made the news due to the collapse of a concrete panel onto a sleeping tenant causing serious injury back in spring.

Subsequent to that event, it has come to light that:

a) The Site was set to get a major re-hab before all this happened.

b) Work on the panels in question was not previously contemplated and would now be mandatory if the buildings are left standing, which is an open question at this point.

There were updates to the June Board meeting of TCHC.

First, the laypersons' summary:


Second, the Engineering Report:


Hey UT Engineers, have a look, I'd be interested to hear your thoughts............

The gist, there appears to be a very serious construction flaw dating back to when the buildings were constructed.

I will give a few short bits here, but read the reports above for all the details.

1659714740648.png



1659714775208.png

1659714827561.png


1659714872822.png


In summary, so far, 21% of panels tested have failed.

Ongoing evaluation of whether retrofit still makes sense or whether replacement is in the cards.
 
I'm starting a thread for this site which made the news due to the collapse of a concrete panel onto a sleeping tenant causing serious injury back in spring.

Subsequent to that event, it has come to light that:

a) The Site was set to get a major re-hab before all this happened.

b) Work on the panels in question was not previously contemplated and would now be mandatory if the buildings are left standing, which is an open question at this point.

There were updates to the June Board meeting of TCHC.

First, the laypersons' summary:


Second, the Engineering Report:


Hey UT Engineers, have a look, I'd be interested to hear your thoughts............

The gist, there appears to be a very serious construction flaw dating back to when the buildings were constructed.

I will give a few short bits here, but read the reports above for all the details.

View attachment 418193


View attachment 418194
View attachment 418195

View attachment 418196

In summary, so far, 21% of panels tested have failed.

Ongoing evaluation of whether retrofit still makes sense or whether replacement is in the cards.

Given how low density the development is, maybe they should just replace it all.

AoD
 
Given how low density the development is, maybe they should just replace it all.

AoD

Ya made me look; so I'll share my findings:

Streetview from Queensway:

1659715572438.png


Aerial Pic:

1659715531578.png


Site Size ~ 2ha/5 acres

Height precedent directly across Queensway: (30-40s)

1659716955105.png



Directly west are low-rise (3s) apartments and SFH:

1659717149180.png


To the north:

1659717202297.png



To the east:

1659717243202.png


Preliminary comments: The south-west corner of the site is ripe for high density. It should be a shoe-in; this could allow for either of dense TCHC build or a partnership similar to Regent Park with a developer
building on the prime spot and eating the cost of reconstruction for the balance.

After a further look-see, when I have a moment, I will propose something I think is viable.
 
A mixed-use, mixed-income development like Regent Park would be amazing for the area. All of the new developments along the Queensway should have had retail.

It's really problematic how neglected some TCHC properties are to the point that they literally collapse onto tenants. I imagine that the level of neglect in some of these buildings causes or exacerbates psychological issues, possibly resulting in increased crime.
 
My take:

1659720621736.png

'
As outlined above, I envision an ideal scenario in which 2 parcels of low density housing are acquired and added to the site. However, the gist of what I propose is feasible w/o that add-on except for the properties
required for road connections.

I feel very strongly about the need to integrate communities and to make mobility within, but also across them a paramount planning objective. This helps mitigate the isolation of residents of lower
socio-economic means.

In a comprehensive proposal, I would envision the light green area be private development that helps fund the rest of the proposal, with no loss of RGI housing and a gain in affordable rental and ownership housing in addition to market-rental and ownership.

My idea would divide the southern portion of the site from the north via an extension of Ellis Gardens to the west. This would improve access to Rennie Park for residents from the west that are currently cut off from same without long round-about walks or cutting across non-public property.

The southerly N-S street is positioned to allow a dramatic step down from upper-medium density height to assuage the locals further east/north by giving them a buffer, while still maximizing the footprint of the site.

The northerly N-S road is positioned to buffer higher density from lower density as one transitions west to east across the site.

Rather than plunk down a park in the midst of this footprint, I have proposed to prioritize an extension of Rennie Park to the south.

This has several benefits. First, the park as structured has little to offer except a view at its south and west ends, resulting in poor access for those from the south and west. By greening this additional area there is room for some amenities, picnic space, seating etc. at the south end of the park. Second, it's contigous to the existing park which can reduce the need to duplicate amenities and instead site existing and new ones optimally. Third, it will be a large quality of life and property-value enhancer for all those potential NIMBYs to enjoy, meaning it's an excellent inducement to hush and accept the density.

I would envision retail at the base of the high density towers and heading north up Windermere the foot print could accommodate a 30,000ft2 supermarket which would be beneficial to this area, the mass of which could be concealed by smaller shops fronting the edge of the site such as a coffee shop.

There is sufficient room here for a generous pedestrian promenade along Queensway; and to create a physically protected cycle track for the WB lanes of Queensway.
 
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A mixed-use, mixed-income development like Regent Park would be amazing for the area. All of the new developments along the Queensway should have had retail.

It's really problematic how neglected some TCHC properties are to the point that they literally collapse onto tenants. I imagine that the level of neglect in some of these buildings causes or exacerbates psychological issues, possibly resulting in increased crime.

The engineering report didn't suggest neglect to be the issue in this particular case.

AoD
 
Do you have a link? If it wasn’t poor maintenance, it could have logically been poor construction quality.

It's linked in my post above (post #1), which also has (some of) the images from the report.
 
The Star has a story on Swansea today, not paywalled at time of posting. It's a bit of a recap with a lot of personal accounts on the emergency relocation.

 
Well this one is going into the full rebuild pile, as I suspected.

No plans yet, but this update to tenants, issued today:

1676667300434.png


I just happened to be on the site seeing if the next board meeting agenda was up and spotted this......
 
Excellent news. That blight can and should be so much better.

I expect the city to eventually submit a proposal that maxes out at 10 floors.

@HousingNowTO and I will brow beat them into more, or sure as hell try.

One saving grace here that will likely drive density; TCHC is obliged to replace the existing 154 units on site, and it has next to no budget to do so, it will be looking for a private partner to shoulder the cost; and on a formula basis, that's going to mean a whole lot of additional units.

Frankly, they should just cut CreateTO out of the process and sole-source on comparable terms to the team now handling the final phases of Regent Park North. They've got their head in the right space on this.

@AlexBozikovic may want to chime in on that too.
 

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