[AHK]

any idea when emerald might start? that hoarding looks like ground breaking's around the corner.
some nice progress with the groundbreaking. the site looks much smaller now though (did they divide it or something with the trailers on the south-east corner?)

Steveve,

Assuming the latter part of your comment applies to the Tridel Hullmark centre site - two reasons why it may look smaller now. First, Anndale Drive is being extended through to Yonge Street, at the south end of the site, so the shoring and excavation activities are all taking place up from the original southern perimiter of the shopping centre property. Secondly, once the site was cleared, without any buildings on it there are no structures to provide visual reference and scale to the property. I am sure there are technical terms (which I do not know) to describe the effect, however it is one which I have noticed at other sites - that they do seem visually smaller once they have been cleared.

AHK

 

[sunnyraytoronto]

kd28 had asked on December 17th:
"Does anyone know what will happen to the south east corner subway entrance. Will it be redeveloped.? "

Sunnyray discussed the emergency exit on the north east corner of the site, but it sounded like kd28 had meant the Poyntz Avenue subway entrance/exit on the east side of Yonge. This is where the second tower is to be. It appears from the posted drawings on the Tridel website that there will be an entrance within that tower too that would replace the existing entrance. There is a specific page on the Hullmark centre website that addresses subway entrances.

It will be interesting to see how all of these subway connections will be worked out.

NYk Drne,.... that makes more sense. I thought kd28 meant the "entrance" at the "South-East" corner of Yonge & Sheppard. Good point,... Maybe kd28 really meant the South "east side" subway entrance which is on the South-West corner of the Hullmark Centre site. Hullmark Centre will have TWO subway entrances.

On the topic of subway entrances,.... Hullmark Centre north tower will have a fully accessible subway entrance with ticket booth collector (as I recall). Tile art to be same as those on the upper Sheppard-Yonge (Sheppard Stubway line) platform.

The current Poyntz Avenue subway entrance at the South-WEST corner of the Hullmark Center site (east side of Yonge) will service Hullmark Centre south tower and will NOT be fully accessible (but to be designed such that it can be upgraded to be fully accessible). This subway entrance will remain automatic. BTW,.... this south "east side" subway entrance will be renamed Anndale entrance.

As a general rule, the TTC doesn't like it when an existing separate subway entrance (like the current "south east side" Poyntz entrance) becomes integrated into a building,... because sometimes they become less accessible to the public (usually further to walk, harder to find, and someone else controls the hours of operation).

BTW, if you use the current south "east side" exit,... you know the problem with Proctor and Gamble building locking close their subway entrance when their building "closes",.. around 7pm and weekends (even though they have 24 hours on-site security). Proctor&Gamble should keep their subway entrance open to allow local residents to access their Yonge & Glendora entrance which is just one block away from Avondale (where there are now over a dozen condos and numerous townhouses). Surely this doesn't reflect very well on Proctor & Gamble with regards to community relations.

The south subway entrance on the west side of Yonge will keep the name "Poyntz". And if the EmeraldPark project ever starts and complete,... the south "west side" entrance will be integrated into EmeraldPark and be a fully accessible subway entrance.

Personally,... I think the TTC should add their own entrances at the south-west and south-east corners of Yonge & Poyntz/Anndale. Once the service roads is completed here,... this 5-way intersection will be very confusing and become a pedestrian-car accident hotspot.

Drivers will certainly remember the 3 down to 2 lanes restriction for both northbound and southbound traffic along Yonge St north of Finch from 2007 to 2009 due to TTC upgrading the ventilation at Finch station. Can you imagine the gridlock at Yonge south of Sheppard when the TTC reduce both northbound and southbound lanes from 3 to 2 lanes for an extended period of time. Thankfully,.. upgrading the ventilation system for Sheppard-Yonge subway station will take place inconjunction with the construction of Hullmark Centre and EmeraldPark,.... so drivers shouldn't see the 2 years traffic nightmare that they saw at Yonge & Finch.

 

[NYk Drne]

Wow Sunnyray--a lot of info here.

Agree that the potential for traffic problems will be great with work on both projects; at present the routing of the dump trucks seems to alleviate some of the potential problems, but who knows what it will be like with both project underway at once.

For access to the P&G building, will depend on the foot traffic that develops as there are more people in the area. That new intersection for Yonge/Anndale extension/Poyntz and access road to P&G building is not clear from City's drawings, Tridel Hullmark renderings or the past info posted to this website. At present access to P&G from Yonge south involves a left turn at the current 3-way traffic light. When Annadale joins Yonge, this does not seem practical or safe--moving the driveway entrance to off the extended Anndale might be better, but does not seem to be in plans that I have seen.

BTW, agree with your post on Dec. 14 concerning the pedestrians using Sheppard Avenue as a sidewalk along the north side of the Hullmark site. This is particularly dangerous at night when the people walking have there backs to oncoming eastbound traffic and there is much more turning traffic from Yonge north. Warning signs do little good when people need to go "just a liitle way along".

 

[Gratty]

Sunnyray,

P&G does not own the building south of the Hullmark Centre - it's a Menkes owned building. P&G just leases roughly 2/3 of the building which allows them to get their logo on the outside and over entrances.

NYk Drne,.... that makes more sense. I thought kd28 meant the "entrance" at the "South-East" corner of Yonge & Sheppard. Good point,... Maybe kd28 really meant the South "east side" subway entrance which is on the South-West corner of the Hullmark Centre site. Hullmark Centre will have TWO subway entrances.

On the topic of subway entrances,.... Hullmark Centre north tower will have a fully accessible subway entrance with ticket booth collector (as I recall). Tile art to be same as those on the upper Sheppard-Yonge (Sheppard Stubway line) platform.

The current Poyntz Avenue subway entrance at the South-WEST corner of the Hullmark Center site (east side of Yonge) will service Hullmark Centre south tower and will NOT be fully accessible (but to be designed such that it can be upgraded to be fully accessible). This subway entrance will remain automatic. BTW,.... this south "east side" subway entrance will be renamed Anndale entrance.

As a general rule, the TTC doesn't like it when an existing separate subway entrance (like the current "south east side" Poyntz entrance) becomes integrated into a building,... because sometimes they become less accessible to the public (usually further to walk, harder to find, and someone else controls the hours of operation).

BTW, if you use the current south "east side" exit,... you know the problem with Proctor and Gamble building locking close their subway entrance when their building "closes",.. around 7pm and weekends (even though they have 24 hours on-site security). Proctor&Gamble should keep their subway entrance open to allow local residents to access their Yonge & Glendora entrance which is just one block away from Avondale (where there are now over a dozen condos and numerous townhouses). Surely this doesn't reflect very well on Proctor & Gamble with regards to community relations.

The south subway entrance on the west side of Yonge will keep the name "Poyntz". And if the EmeraldPark project ever starts and complete,... the south "west side" entrance will be integrated into EmeraldPark and be a fully accessible subway entrance.

Personally,... I think the TTC should add their own entrances at the south-west and south-east corners of Yonge & Poyntz/Anndale. Once the service roads is completed here,... this 5-way intersection will be very confusing and become a pedestrian-car accident hotspot.

Drivers will certainly remember the 3 down to 2 lanes restriction for both northbound and southbound traffic along Yonge St north of Finch from 2007 to 2009 due to TTC upgrading the ventilation at Finch station. Can you imagine the gridlock at Yonge south of Sheppard when the TTC reduce both northbound and southbound lanes from 3 to 2 lanes for an extended period of time. Thankfully,.. upgrading the ventilation system for Sheppard-Yonge subway station will take place inconjunction with the construction of Hullmark Centre and EmeraldPark,.... so drivers shouldn't see the 2 years traffic nightmare that they saw at Yonge & Finch.

 

[sunnyraytoronto]

Sunnyray,

P&G does not own the building south of the Hullmark Centre - it's a Menkes owned building. P&G just leases roughly 2/3 of the building which allows them to get their logo on the outside and over entrances.

Menkes also built a number of the condos in the area,... so they're not helping their own condo residents by keeping the Proctor & Gamble subway entrance doors locked.

 

[sunnyraytoronto]

NYk Drne,

In post# 432 AlvinofDiaspar posted the pdf for Hullmark Centre Official Plan Amendment, Zoning By-law Amendment and Site Plan Applications (Final Report) dated February 16, 2010. On page 21 of that report there's the service ring road with lane direction,... that's the most up to date south Service Ring road map I've seen.

Attached you shall find the Yonge and Poyntz/Anndale intersection in question. It seems the latest revision has the driveway for the Proctor & Gamble (Menkes) buildings converted from 2 way to oneway eastbound only. A bit safer,... but still as you can see northbound Yonge left turning to westbound Poyntz is on collision course with southbound Yonge left turning to eastbound private roadway of Proctor & Gamble (Menkes) building.

See where I put the red laser pointer,... that's near the current sidewalk at the north-west corner of Yonge & Poyntz. Directly under that is the most southern point of the current walkway for the south subway entrance at Poyntz. Which after the widening of Poyntz from current narrow 4 lanes to 6 wide lanes,... the southern part of the subway walkway will be halfway under the widen Poyntz Avenue. I think they should also extend that walkway southward to build a stand alone subway entrance on the south-west corner of Yonge & Poyntz (similar to what they've done on both sides of Sheppard West, east of Beecroft),... so it'll be much safer for the subway users coming from that south-west neighbourhood.

I agree that it would be much safer to close off that Proctor and Gamble (Menkes) roadway on Yonge and give them an entrance/exit onto Anndale,.... but that would mean less visibility for their deliveries and clients trying to figure out how to find their driveway. Also, it's technically a private road on private property (Menkes),... so they would have a stronger say.

 

[sunnyraytoronto]

BTW, agree with your post on Dec. 14 concerning the pedestrians using Sheppard Avenue as a sidewalk along the north side of the Hullmark site. This is particularly dangerous at night when the people walking have there backs to oncoming eastbound traffic and there is much more turning traffic from Yonge north. Warning signs do little good when people need to go "just a liitle way along".

NYk Drne,

Let's just hope the city blocks off a lane for pedestrians before somebody get seriously injured.

BTW,... most of these pedestrians from 23 & 33 Sheppard Ave East jay-walking along Sheppard Ave East where the south sidewalk has been closed due to the Hullmark Centre construction,... most of them eventually cross Sheppard to end up at the north-east corner of Yonge & Sheppard,... where they can access the subway & Sheppard Centre. Interestingly,... if you go directly underneath that corner to the galleria of the Sheppard-Yonge subway station (level with the main ticket booth). On the side where there's the newspaper store and lottery booth,.... there's a walkway that currently goes to the not currently used WESTbound platform of the Sheppard Stubway line,... that walkway used to service an undergound connection to the office buildings at 45 & 47 Sheppard Ave East (which are just next door and east of 23 & 33 Sheppard Ave East). So I'm wondering what part of that underground walkway still exist???

Obviously they took some of it out to build the Sheppard Stubway line,.... but if you notice on the EASTbound platform where there's the series of 8 or so doors for the current emergency exit that will eventually be the walkway for the subway entrance for Hullmark Centre north tower. To the east of that,.... there's a few doors,... including some east of the false wall at the end of the platform (Sheppard Stubway has 4 car trains,.. but can service 6 cars trains once false walls are taken down). Maybe one of these doors lead to that underground walkway to 45 & 47 Sheppard Ave East. And that north-to-east Wye subway tunnel probably took out some of that underground walkway too,...

I'm sure pieces of that underground walkway are still intact somewhere,... someone's probably using it as a bunker,... hoarding clearance items from National Gym, stocked with can goods from Dominion and unreturned videos from Blockbuster.

 

[reaperexpress]

Interestingly,... if you go directly underneath that corner to the galleria of the Sheppard-Yonge subway station (level with the main ticket booth). On the side where there's the newspaper store and lottery booth,.... there's a walkway that currently goes to the not currently used Eastbound platform of the Sheppard Stubway line,... that walkway used to service an undergound connection to the office buildings at 45 & 47 Sheppard Ave East (which are just next door and east of 23 & 33 Sheppard Ave East). So I'm wondering what part of that underground walkway still exist???

That should be Westbound, the Eastbound platform is in use.

 

[caltrane74]

I hope that this building and Gibson Square go a part to making North York Centre a more vibrant hip and happening place.

 

[NYk Drne]

Originally Posted by Gratty

Sunnyray,

P&G does not own the building south of the Hullmark Centre - it's a Menkes owned building. P&G just leases roughly 2/3 of the building which allows them to get their logo on the outside and over entrances.

Then Posted by Sunnyray

Menkes also built a number of the condos in the area,... so they're not helping their own condo residents by keeping the Proctor & Gamble subway entrance doors locked.

In fact Menkes only manages the building on behalf of the owners, which are commercial investors, including a pension fund. The interests are diffused with respect to changes in extended access to the P&G Building.

 

[Fad225]

From Councillor Filion's office:

"Councillor Filion is fully aware of the lack of sidewalk on Sheppard Ave East and realizes the problems this is causing some resident such as yourself.

In order to preserve a sidewalk at this location we would need to build it in the eastbound turn lane on Sheppard Ave East, thereby creating additional traffic problems near an intersection which already experiences serve problems. Several months ago Councillor Filion had a meeting with representatives of 13 condos in the area as well as homeowners; at this meeting it was the position of the residents that the lane should be left open and the sidewalk eliminated as the lesser of two evils.

Now that everyone is able to see the problem that exists with the absence of the sidewalk it may be that there will be new consensus that we are better off taking out the lane and installing a temporary sidewalk.

I will update you once I hear of any new developments."

Take care,




Angela Drennan
Constituency Assistant
Office of Councillor John Filion
Ward 23, Willowdale
416-395-6411
adrenna@toronto.ca

 

[cruzin4u]

Taken January 7th/2011 - © JOTDOG

For some reason, AUTOSTITCH didn't work for these files.

 

[sunnyraytoronto]

Fad225,

Hmmm,... local Councillor John Filion polled the reps from 13 condos,... of which only 2 (23 & 33 Sheppard Ave East) would have pedestrian using this sidewalk on a regular basis,... and the other 11 condo would have drivers using the eastbound turn lane on a regular basis,.... gee, I wonder how that poll went? Duh!

I bet if one of his a la food cart was there, that sidewalk never would have closed!

If the city doesn't do something soon, call the media, like the Toronto Star "Fixer" www.thestar.com/thefixer

Contact Tridel,.. they should have a community liaison officer to deal with local and city issues. Get Tridel on your side to deal with the city. Even though technically, this is really a city of Toronto issue,.... if a jay-walking pedestrian gets run over and killed the headlines will be "PEDESTRIAN KILLED AT TRIDEL HULLMARK CENTRE SITE".

A building tainted with blood isn't a good thing,.... everytime I walk through the concourse of ScotiaPlaza tower, I remember the fact that a construction worker was killed when an elevator fell to the concourse level during construction.

BTW,... notice in cruzin4u's photos,... they seem to have closed off that south side Sheppard Ave East sidewalk,... so they'll have room to store 1 red SUV-size gatehouse/storage bin and a portable toilet! They risk peoples lives for this??? Look at the massive size of that site,... and surely they can find a better place to put a portable toilet! Man, that's just sticking it to the locals,.... close off an entire sidewalk, so they can put one portable toilet there, unbelievable!

 

[sunnyraytoronto]

Taken January 7th/2011 - © JOTDOG

For some reason, AUTOSTITCH didn't work for these files.

Crusin4u,

Just a guess,... but I noticed the first photo (eastern) is much more brighter than the second one (western). And judging from the low sun in the western view, the photo was taken around 4pm,... closer to sunset. So when you took the eastern shot, you got more sunlight bouncing off those condos and the photo was brighter.

Maybe try taking the photos closer to high noon,... when the sun is directly over the site,... illuminating both the eastern and western view equally.

BTW, if you had taken these photos on Friday earlier in the afternoon, you would might have captured 2 out of the 3 northbound Yonge lanes blocked off by construction or routing some underground wires,....

BTW,... keep up the good work with the photos.

 

[Fad225]

they seem to have closed off that south side Sheppard Ave East sidewalk,... so they'll have room to store 1 red SUV-size gatehouse/storage bin and a portable toilet! They risk peoples lives for this??? Look at the massive size of that site,... and surely they can find a better place to put a portable toilet! Man, that's just sticking it to the locals,.... close off an entire sidewalk, so they can put one portable toilet there, unbelievable!

thanks Sunnyraytoronto.. I totally agree its crazy.. the site is HUGE.. whats 1.5meters of the public's right to a sidewalk! its insane..