Northern Light

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A new application in the AIC has been filed for addresses 1437-1455 Queen West.

While different corporate names are used, Stafford is listed on some of the docs as the client. (Alternate name Jameson Plaza Development)

The proposal would demolish:

1686143621135.png



From the building in the foreground (1437) to the white, 2-storey building in background, 1455 and everything in between.

By and large, not much of a loss.......

The building in the foreground is not on the heritage register at all; but ACO seems to be fond of it:


That said, The App:

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From the Docs:

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Site Plan:

1686144049461.png


Ground Floor Plan:

1686144199296.png



1686144104332.png


Parking Ratio: .29

Elevator Ratio: 1.2 elevators per 100 units

Comments: The height while reasonable, will likely draw pushback. At first blush, it violates the 6-storey limit on Queen; but as you can see in the render, anything above 4 floors has beent set back from Queen, whether that proves sufficient to get it through will prove interesting. The immediate precedent is a purpose-built rental to the immediate south on Jameson, which is 12s as well. The architecture is RAW......sigh, I do like the use of masonry, and I understand what they were trying to do w/breaking up the massing, even if I think it looks a tad clumsy. My only real issues w/the design would be that I don't like balconies in the podium. I'm a balcony person, and in the midrise form, I'm fine w/it, but for me it just doesn't work on the podium over the street. I do think they'd have an easier time selling this, if they pulled a 55 Mercer and emulated the historical language of much of the Queen Street retail on the podium, but ......not my call.

Of interest, the building does not attempt any pyramids in its design.
 
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Woah! I really like this. So many subtle details, and the blocky design makes for a much nicer streetscape than a lot of other buildings going up on plots like this. most of them look like cruise ships.

Here is the aerial of the site. From this perspective, this occupies everything in between (not including) the T-shaped building and the small building on the corner of Queen and Jameson.
Screenshot 2023-06-07 101659.png
 
See ya later, angular planes! Already seeing huge improvements in design quality from it going by-by, gives more flexibility to shift the building mass back from the street, and creates much more efficient buildings.. The large setback from Queen St for the 12 storey component wouldn't have been possible here even 6 months ago.
 
No loss - that whole block is not only an eyesore, but inappropriate for one of our main streets. I can already imagine the hyperbolic outrage on facebook groups over this though...

That building in the foreground has sat empty for as long as I can remember, which is bizarre. I also noticed while riding by today that Om restaurant (small building with orange sign) is gone. I believe it was there for around 20 years and was one of the first Tibetan restaurants in the area. I saw that a few others on the strip have closed as well - too much saturation of one type of ethnic food perhaps?
 
1437 has been closed and abandoned for years - it's good that it'll be redone. Little Tibet and Om are sad - Little Tibet was renovated only recently.

I'm generally supportive of the redevelopment of this mini-mall - Parkdale's own little piece of suburbia - but there are some real services for people in it: a Salvation Army, a CAMH office, a laundromat, etc. etc. I wonder if they'll be able to re-locate?

And Parkdale, like some ultra-powerful antibody response, has generally resisted the incursion of condo developments over these last twenty years. All the developments have generally been on the outer edges, or around Noble Street. I think that a condo development like this one in the heart of Parkdale could signal a big change.
 
1437 has been closed and abandoned for years - it's good that it'll be redone. Little Tibet and Om are sad - Little Tibet was renovated only recently.

I'm generally supportive of the redevelopment of this mini-mall - Parkdale's own little piece of suburbia - but there are some real services for people in it: a Salvation Army, a CAMH office, a laundromat, etc. etc. I wonder if they'll be able to re-locate?

And Parkdale, like some ultra-powerful antibody response, has generally resisted the incursion of condo developments over these last twenty years. All the developments have generally been on the outer edges, or around Noble Street. I think that a condo development like this one in the heart of Parkdale could signal a big change.

I think the loss of the Salvation Army and the laundromat are going to be quite a hit to the community, as someone born & raised in Parkdale I know firsthand how important both services are to the community. I sincerely doubt they will be relocated to somewhere else in the neighbourhood. While I also do generally support the redevelopment of this plaza, I think there needs to be some sort of effort to preserve those uses which have served the community for decades. I seriously worry that the retail component for a redevelopment such as this will inevitably end up being some soulless corporate tenant like we see occupy the retail spaces in so many other mixed-use projects. I'm all for increased density as well, we can never get enough housing, but I also worry it will be priced in a way that does not align with the average income of your typical Parkdale resident. Additionally, I'm curious to see how they will address parking and the increased traffic to be generated, as the Queen & Jameson/Lansdowne intersection is notoriously terrible as-is, from a traffic safety perspective.

Lastly, the design is ugly, I hope they end up with something better than that blocky mess with what appears to be 4 different colours of brick/cladding.
 


1437-1455 Queen St W and 1266 Queen St W - Virtual Community Consultation Meetings

Tuesday, October 10, 2023 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM
(UTC-04:00) Eastern Time (US & Canada)

Agenda

City Staff invite you to join a Community Consultation Meeting for two separate applications to amend the Official Plan and Zoning By-law to allow the redevelopment of the subject sites located at:

1) 1437-1455 Queen Street West:
A 12-storey mixed-use building consisting of 249 residential units and 7,576 sq. m of total gross floor area (GFA). The submitted drawings and materials can be accessed at
www.toronto.ca/1437QueenStW; and

2) 1266 Queen Street West:
A 25-storey mixed-use building consisting of 381 residential units and 24,866 sq. m of total gross floor area (GFA). The submitted drawings and materials can be accessed at www.toronto.ca/1266QueenStW.

Meeting Agenda:
- Introduction & Policy Overview: 6:00pm – 6:15pm
- 1437-1455 Queen Street West: 6:15pm – 7:05pm
- 1266 Queen Street West: 7:05pm – 8:00pm

Each application will have a presentation and an opportunity for participants to ask questions and/or provide comments.
 
This one is the subject of an Appeals Report, headed to the next meeting of TEYCC:


I called it up thread........the City is balking at the height here. I'm going to disagree w/staff on this one. I'm open to discussion of mitigating the appearance of the height further; but I don't think the idea offends the Parkdale Main Street concept.

I did say, and still maintain, that the architectural expression of the podium could fit in a bit better.

1707406490952.png


I think this is resolvable and should be settled; but we shall see.
 

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