[Benito]

Today.

 

[thecharioteer]

Judging from the rendering, it looks like this is a temporary thing for the sales centre.

I assume they want the sales centre to be presentable, without breaking the bank before the majority of the units have sold

Understood but the marketing renderings themselves show no intent to replicate the original glazing:

 

[xy3]

I see what you mean but Im just thankful they didnt opt for modern picture windows.

 

[AlbertC]

 

[Northern Light]

Settlement offer was made, and so far as I can tell, adopted by Council.

https://www.toronto.ca/legdocs/mmis/2022/cc/bgrd/backgroundfile-225733.pdf

This one answers the question what money can buy you................a 3s height reduction is your answer, this one is now 10s.

@Art Tsai

From the settlement offer:

There's a bunch more, but most would not be particularly of interest here.......

*****

Oh, except for these............

'

 

[xy3]

The height reduction is a substantial loss, thanks to a small vocal group of spoiled babies.

The higher end quality project gets a height chop while the mid market quality block busting project, 20 scrivener square; will dwarf it in scale.

 

[LUVIT!]

It’s a beautiful yet squat building as opposed to the many tall and bland buildings going up.

 

[UtakataNoAnnex]

I suppose the materials for the heritage portion are enough of a difference from the rest of the structure that is doesn't get lost entirely once this is completed. Which was my only real quibble with this...outside that I'm not really into Stern'esk type goth buildings to begin with.

 

[DavidCapizzano]

This thing is still going to look huge - it's just going to look fatter and less elegant now. Not really a win for the area. With all of the proposals along Yonge between Rosedale and St Clair they're going to have to learn to be able to live with a minimum of 10 floors.

 

[AlbertC]

Rosedale residents settle with developer and score expansion to neighbourhood park

Toronto has reached a settlement for a development kitty corner to the Five Thieves food purveyors on Yonge in the Rosedale neighbourhood

streetsoftoronto.com

The settlement for 1134-1140 Yonge St. includes lowering the height of the building from 13 storeys to 10 and securing an extension to nearby Ramsden Park. City council voted on May 11 to approve the negotiated settlement that will be presented at an upcoming Ontario Land Tribunal (OLT) hearing.

The Rosedale building currently on the site dates back to the 1930s and has been home to Staples, a CBC studio and a Pierce-Arrow car dealership. It features historical arched windows on the ground floor that will be brought back to life by developers Devron Developments and Constantine.

Park levy money gained from the deal has been used to purchase a property along Avenue Road that will expand Ramsden Park to the street to make it more visible and accessible, according to local councillor Mike Layton and ABC Residents Association president Ian Carmichael. The park’s expansion was not on the table prior to this application, Layton said.

ABCRA has been negotiating with the developers for about two-and-a-half years since the proposal was first submitted in 2020, and Layton said the association has been “in the driver’s seat” throughout that process.

The negotiation included keeping the number of units originally proposed, 66, roughly the same as the height was lowered to 39.5 metres, as well as a substantial setback from the historic facade to allow appropriate transitions to nearby properties.

 

[AlexBozikovic]

The building on Avenue Road that’s being purchased to expand Ramsden Park is 211 Avenue Rd, home to a cafe which the same residents’ association has been trying to litigate out of existence.

So that RA didn’t want a café, and has now used the city’s power to force a developer to buy the café’s (seemingly perfectly good) building and tear it down, thereby creating a (seemingly useless) extension to the park?

 

[xy3]

Wish the developer would have thought more outside the box as far as negotation with the city,. Had I been confident I could sell enough units, I would have offered up extra funds for a nice water feature/fountain in the park in exchange for 16-20 floors. Would've been a win-win for the developer and residents who actually appreciate high quality parks and urban design.

This is a tower that would have benefited from extra height, not less.

 

[Northern Light]

The building on Avenue Road that’s being purchased to expand Ramsden Park is 211 Avenue Rd, home to a cafe which the same residents’ association has been trying to litigate out of existence.

So that RA didn’t want a café, and has now used the city’s power to force a developer to buy the café’s (seemingly perfectly good) building and tear it down, thereby creating a (seemingly useless) extension to the park?

So that everyone knows what's being discussed:

211 is the property denoted with 'Coffee House' on it. The treed opening leads to Ramsden Park, so this would modestly widen that.

I'm mixed on this one; but I don't mind the idea.

In its favour, I like the idea of functional add-ons to existing parks.

Against it, taken in isolation 211 is insufficient to create much new function here, there could obviously be a wider path, more seats etc, but not much more.

Mitigating that is that the adjacent properties could be added in the future, in theory, and taken together could give this major city park a high profile on Avenue Road, which I think it deserves, rather than the after-thought of an entrance currently.

An aerial view for context:

The existing entrance space is ~3,000ft2

The negotiated addition: is ~1600ft2

So about a 50% expansion

But the potential here is greater:

The above would be a ~16,000ft2 addition or 5x what's there now; helping to create a truly grand urban park here.

Of course, that's not what's on the table, but....it could be........

* none of the above buildings are listed or designated

 

[evandyk]

Ramsden is a great park, which the toddler goes to often with his grandmother and a friend that lives nearby. Giving it a bigger presence on Avenue as well I think would be great for the park and the area.

I've also followed that cafe's travails, and it is a true travesty what the RA has done to it.

 

[evandyk]

I know the spot well, since I used to live in the Annex, and my immediate assumption was that the whole triplex was going to be converted into parkland. Knowing that it's just the cafe 1/3 makes the whole idea a lot less attractive to me.