[Northern Light]

Ok, the blow-out surprise in the presentation is this.......

Mx is planning an LRT on Neilson that will end (north terminus) at this development; they're at 5% design........ (side note, one the panel members is actually working on the LRT design and its apparently going to hit 10% design by year end)

So this is the idea, presumably of the Eglinton East and or Sheppard East LRT connecting to UTSC I'm assuming; earlier iterations would have shown a routing along Sheppard. I'm musing in my head though, about whether such an LRT needs a connection to the new Sheppard/McCowan SSE Station first; and also whether any routing to UTSC shouldn't follow Ellesmere such that it can serve Scarborough Centenary Hospital.

****

Panel had lots of critiques.

- Lack of overall design ethos

- Lack of green space network

- Too car oriented.

- Main street retail proposal is too wide at 23M, Queen West is 18M wide, it shouldn't be wider than that.

- Concern over retail viability

- General feeling on too much density. Density described as unrealistic.

- Courtyards are enclosed

- Mews/lanes are too narrow to support trees.

- One panel member suggested removing the major streets flanking the park, and instead build out the streets internal to the residential, while having the park meet the residential.

- Consensus as defined by chair, many elements here underdeveloped and ill considered.

Vote: Unanimous non-support 9-0

 

[HousingNowTO]

Community Town Hall: Malvern Mall Development
Wed Sep 20th
6:30pm - 8:30pm

Malvern Recreation Centre
30 Sewells Rd
Scarborough, ON
M1B 3G5


LINK - https://tockify.com/jamaalmyers/detail/6/1695249000000

 

[boldpreza]

So I have a few questions about this. Hopefully some more knowledgeable posters can assist. Also have there been any updates since this initial announcement?

1) Given how large the lot is, why are we not getting more buildings?
2) Given how low density the surrounding area is, why are they putting more townhouses on the site? Especially given that a townhome community was just built on the western edge of the site.
3) If we were to get more buildings, could we not get more units with lower floor counts? Admittedly 39 storeys isn't a monster but its so much more than what is already there.
4) Is any part of the mall salvageable as a community hub/Food hall idea?
5) What part of this causes it to take 20 years? Is there a way to expedite this build out?

 

[Northern Light]

So I have a few questions about this. Hopefully some more knowledgeable posters can assist.

I shall endeavor.

Also have there been any updates since this initial announcement?

Not that I'm aware of...........there are no new documents uploaded, and there is no indication of any appeal to the OLT.

1) Given how large the lot is, why are we not getting more buildings?

This is a very dense proposal, there are lots of towers here. The only space not built on is parkland, or roads. Yes, there are townhomes on one block, and only one, and that's because that's what they are facing on the other side of the street, they are acting as a buffer between the existing townhomes and the greater height of the towers. The midrise is related to buffering the park from intense shadows.

2) Given how low density the surrounding area is, why are they putting more townhouses on the site? Especially given that a townhome community was just built on the western edge of the site.

Answered above.

3) If we were to get more buildings, could we not get more units with lower floor counts? Admittedly 39 storeys isn't a monster but its so much more than what is already there.

Where are more buildings going? If you read the comments from the Design Review Panel above, you'll see they describe this proposal as unrealistically dense.

4) Is any part of the mall salvageable as a community hub/Food hall idea?

Structurally, sure, economically, that would make no sense. It also wouldn't be great planning. I'm confused that you object to one block of townhomes but want to save a one-storey failed mall?

5) What part of this causes it to take 20 years? Is there a way to expedite this build out?

In theory, you could build it all at once, more or less, though that would obviously eliminate all retail and jobs for the community on-site today.

However, market economics precludes building it out that quickly. Certainly as condos, you would sell one block at a time then move on to the next. If doing rentals, there's more room to build quicker, but this is a large site and that's a lot capital (money) and a lot of risk.

Realistically, if demand were there and if the supporting infrastructure were there, you could see this rollout over 12-15 years. But the market will have ups and downs over that time......

 

[boldpreza]

Thank you for the answers its much appreciated. Also thank you for pointing out the buffering as I had not considered that.

The thought for more buildings would have been instead of the townhomes, adding more podiums. Additionally the north east corner of the property is not included in the proposal, as its currently up for sale and likely to be severed. Those were just my initial thoughts.

Saving the mall idea would not have been the whole thing, but only a small portion, preferably the central entryway, as I said so its a community spot, maybe even the future TAIBU replacement or as a food hall with a park on either side of the entryway.

On that last part, I guess I am just impatient and want to see it done. Though yes I understand market realities and the ups and downs, in particular this exact moment.