greenleaf said:
I have a feeling that in order for this to become a reality (and it will probably be shorter to remove shadowing on NPS), the city will insist that affordable rental units are included in the building.
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It doesn't cast shadows on NPS at its current proposed height.
 
Mike in TO said:
Because no one would ever construct any new rental units if that were the case.
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Was there a lot of new rental construction in the city over the last 10 years? Seems project like this is being presented as some sort of abnormality in a sea of condo construction.
 
There has been a small uptick in purpose built rental construction and there is a lot of interest within the industry right now - we could see more projects in the next few years as rental rates are more attractive today and the condo side of the market has slowed.
 
I find it fascinating that they would propose a rental building with all the condos that are on the market and/or under construction. A very large percentage of those condos will be available for rent on completion - so instead of spreading the risk to unit purchasers, CF will take all the risk on themselves.

Either they see the rental market stronger than most others do or they know something others don't.
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Cadillac Fairview may not want to give up the land. They basically own the whole block now. And considering all loading dock activities would have to go through the Eaton Centre facilities it might be easier to keep it in the family. And with rental rates on the rise they will still do well financially.
 
It's interesting that they are getting back into residential leasing, having sold off all of their apartment buildings years ago to concentrate on commercial leasing.
 
Mike in TO said:
There has been a small uptick in purpose built rental construction and there is a lot of interest within the industry right now - we could see more projects in the next few years as rental rates are more attractive today and the condo side of the market has slowed.
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Rental rates more attractive? No way. I live in a slightly larger than a bachelor, but not a 1 bedroom unit downtown with a washer/dryer/dishwasher, and the rent is going to be $1409 according to my lease renewal when my current one ends Dec. 31st. That's absolutely insane. Not even an actual bedroom with a door in the thing.
 
According to this BlogTO article, it looks like Wong-Tam's playing hardball:


The design as it currently stands doesn't meet city requirements for outdoor amenity space or provide the ideal setback from Yonge and Queen streets. The possible shadow impact on Nathan Phillips Square and Trinity Square to the north was also cited as a concern along with the potential for long-term disruption during construction.

...


"I have some big concerns about what they're proposing on that small site," says councillor Kristyn Wong-Tam. "Not only are they not meeting the city's parking criteria by offering us no parking, but they're also not offering us much else with respect to community benefits."

"To build 65 storeys of rental housing and not have any of it even remotely affordable is a problem. Proposing a tower that has 67 times coverage is mind boggling...they have to work harder and we're very far from an approval, that's for sure."
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Immediately post-public meeting, the talk started between KWT and Cadillac. What's on offer now is simply the starting position, same as KWT's stance. All this is expected. It will be interesting to see at what point the parties involved agree on what Cadillac Fairview should give back to the City to get what they're looking for.

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interchange42 said:
Immediately post-public meeting, the talk started between KWT and Cadillac. What's on offer now is simply the starting position, same as KWT's stance. All this is expected. It will be interesting to see at what point the parties involved agree on what Cadillac Fairview should give back to the City to get what they're looking for.

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I appreciate that KWT has been innovative with benefits that she's asking from developers, such as the money to expand the Bixi network. I hope that we'll see something similar here, given the unique nature of the site. I imagine that one big card for CF to play is setting aside a significant number of units for affordable-rent. Generally I think more rental buildings in the core should be encouraged, be they luxury or not.

I'm not sure that parking is such a huge issue given the proximity to the subway, but I wonder if it's possible that spots in the Eaton Centre parking garage can be made available. With respect to outdoor amenity space, perhaps a portion of the roof of the Eaton Centre that is adjacent to the tower could be added to the project under some kind of long term license/easement agreement or something. Regarding the narrow side walks, I doubt that increasing the setback from the intersection to widen the side walk will be on the table, given that the existing heritage structure has already set the precedent in that respect.
 
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