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Northern Light

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This new to the AIC proposal seeks approval for a 41s residential tower at the corner of Yonge and Balmoral, beside the heritage firehall.

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app.toronto.ca

Application Details

app.toronto.ca app.toronto.ca

Site as is (per Streetview):

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* Docs are up *

Architect is R. Varacalli

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* Note Zero Residential Parking excepting 2 carshare spaces.

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Comments:

Unusually small foot print ~ 10000ft2, just barely viable for a tower in terms of typical Toronto pro-forma

Precedent: In terms of what's built now, there is no precedent to support this; however, the proposal immediately to the north is ~40s, so the ask has some support, it can also reach for MTSA. But since its out of step w/most other asks,
expect significant community benefits requested from the City and Councillor to get this approved at this height.

Problems: Building currently provides office space, no apparent replacement strategy. Proponent arguing this is not required. Retail is minimal and includes residential lobby fronting Yonge and zero street trees are proposed.
 
Another proposal that's a tad problematic from a climate standpoint – the existing building isn't that old and is quite large, but it's still a tear-down apparently :/

I'm not exactly a fan of the design of the extant building – it's kind of schlocky (not without its charms, but schlocky) – but you can see from the Streetview image Northern Light posted, it's a solid contributor to a vibrant street, with a few retail slots and good patios. The new building's a huge step downward in that regard.
 
I lived at 1233 Yonge Street just 200m from this development. I never ventured down Balmoral so this is my first time seeing that beautiful fire station. What a gem.

Here is Google Street view from 2021..

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It's a visual downgrade, but the real crime was that it was redeveloped at such low densities not so long ago despite being right on Line 1. I'm glad Toronto is becoming less timid when it comes to adding density to "richer" parts of the city, although some of that is because of the province holding a gun to its head with MTSA requirements, etc.
 
adHominem said:
Another proposal that's a tad problematic from a climate standpoint – the existing building isn't that old and is quite large, but it's still a tear-down apparently :/

I'm not exactly a fan of the design of the extant building – it's kind of schlocky (not without its charms, but schlocky) – but you can see from the Streetview image Northern Light posted, it's a solid contributor to a vibrant street, with a few retail slots and good patios. The new building's a huge step downward in that regard.
Click to expand...
This is a red herring. 469 new homes with no new car parking steps from the subway is a huge win for the climate in the long run. This is exactly the kind of infill urban development that is critical to reducing transportation emissions (the number one contributor to climate change) and also reducing operating emissions per home (apartment emissions are well lower per home on average than single family homes, towns, etc.).

Don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good
 
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