I can't be the only one who thinks this is excessive. I know community consultation is necessary, but this much?

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I can't be the only one who thinks this is excessive. I know community consultation is necessary, but this much?

View attachment 362582

Its a lot, but not as atypical or as much as you might think at first blush.

Lets take a closer look.

2 of those boxes are TTC. This is because the development is/was contemplating a connection to Spadina Station, so rather necessary. That is not a public meeting, just a stage in the process.

I'm not sure what LPAT is doing there, since they would not be meeting with LPAT or appealing to them at a pre-application stage. Unless the acronym means something different here.

A pre-application meeting is likely referring to City Planning Staff and is a sensible, smart-money thing to do, where you run the gist of the proposal by planning before filing all the paperwork. Its a way of seeing
what may get flagged before you waste a lot of money and time on an application.

Wigwamen Inc is a First Nations Housing provider; that may/may not have been to incorporate affordable housing here.

A tenant meeting is fairly pro-forma, that's a discussion with existing tenants in the building outlining the process, what types of notice/compensation may be on the table etc.

Annex Lane Townhouses are the neighbours, makes sense to talk to them.

*****

What looks to be out of the norm:

The Truth and Reconciliation meeting, and 3 community workshops pre-application is certainly a bit much for most apps.

But the rest isn't completely out of the ordinary.
 
The changes noted from the working group meetings last fall have now made their way to the City in the form of a revised submission.

Key changes (from the previous iterations) are noted in the amended Planning Report:

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Side by side Stats:

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A refreshed link to the app:

 
The changes in rendering form, are this…

From the November, 2021 version which still had shades of holstein cutouts:
Old350BloorWHeroN1069.jpg


To the simplified January, 2022 version:
350BloorWHeroN1280.jpg


Plus the rendering is high-res enough that I can give you these close-ups of the birck:
350BloorWPodN1280.jpg


…including how it runs all the way to the crown on the southeast corner:
350BloorWTopN1280.jpg


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Ah there we go that's more like Toronto, buh-bye brick on tower!

They needed to follow the city doctrine of "no colour on a tower". I was wondering how long it would take to see it stripped out.
 
One new rendering is updated in the database! The project information has the following updates. The total unit count increased from 404 units to 422 units. The building height changed from 118.10m to 117.65m.

The rendering is taken from the architectural plan via rezoning application:

PLN - Architectural Plans - JUN 9  2022-1.jpg
 
My opinion will always be that they should keep the elder structures both for this project and 328 Bloor. Work with the character that already exist with this intersection and The Annex will have a winner...no need to turn this into a stumpier version of soulless Yonge & Eglinton to deal with subway stop densification.
 
Can anything be done at this point to save the corner facade?
Your only chance for input would be to ask to speak at Community Council on Thursday on this item:

City Planning is recommending that Council approve it though, so you'd need a very compelling case with what would amount to something new that had not been considered in the reports that brought Planning to its recommendation though. Frankly, the sentiment "but I like the current building" wouldn't be enough to get you anywhere.

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In this case, the community and local agencies surrounding the Bloor and Spadina intersection expressed a desire to keep the unique history of the place at the forefront of any plans.

“It’s something of a gathering and meeting space. It offered safety and connection,” said Pamela Hart, Executive Director of the Native Women’s Resource Centre, of the intersection. “To redesign with consideration of the benefit to the community, there must be a deeply rooted understanding of what was there before. If not, it can eliminate the community.”

Layton says developers, in large part, heard the community’s concerns and wishes. They worked closely with the Indigenous-owned and operated firm, Two Row Architect, to integrate Indigenous knowledge and heritage into the way the building will be built and they have consulted with nearby organizations to ensure the public space in the entryway to the building will be what developers call an “urban living room.”

The “urban living room” will be a glassed-in atrium and a public space for anyone to use. Layton says it’s a “place that they expect people to gather, to interact.” The living room will serve as a lobby for the housing units in the building, but will also contain office space, retail opportunities and a path to the Spadina subway station.

The living room will be the site of the community benefits project funded through Section 37. Indigenous leaders, in meetings about the development, were clear that any contribution from developers must have real benefits.

“It has to go toward something tangible,” said Hart. “It has to be housing units. It has to be office space. It has to be something the community owns and can call their own, not just visible representation in a building that doesn’t offer anything tangible to give back or enhance our community.”

While Layton said the city cannot compel developers to include affordable units in the building, developers agreed to provide opportunities for office and retail space, as well as fund visible and prominent Indigenous-led art in the space.

Developers and city planners have expressed a desire to make the space a truly open and public one, and they plan for it to operate at the same hours as the TTC, rather than closing when the retail stores lock up for the night. This means there will be challenges monitoring a public place like this, but for now, the focus is on finding and securing spaces within the living room for Indigenous-led groups.

There are more development applications for the other corners of the Bloor and Spadina intersection which means there will be more opportunities to engage meaningfully with Indigenous-led groups and create spaces for their communities.
 

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