New Proposal- two towers at St. Clair and Yonge

Forgive me for this if someone had already posted, but there is an application to build just north of st. Clair and Yonge, where the old theatres used to be. I think the app is for the parking lot behind the retail on Yonge St. I saw the sign there that said two towers, the taller at around 45 or 47 stories, and I can't remember the other towers proposed height, but I believe it was around 19floors. Anyone else seen these proposals? Pretty tall for that intersection, be amazed if it gets past the St. Clair nimby's. Hope so though, its near a major intersection.

Cheers!
 
Forgive me for this if someone had already posted, but there is an application to build just north of st. Clair and Yonge, where the old theatres used to be. I think the app is for the parking lot behind the retail on Yonge St. I saw the sign there that said two towers, the taller at around 45 or 47 stories, and I can't remember the other towers proposed height, but I believe it was around 19floors. Anyone else seen these proposals? Pretty tall for that intersection, be amazed if it gets past the St. Clair nimby's. Hope so though, its near a major intersection.

Cheers!

I have not heard this before. 45 storeys would dominate this intersection and I imagine such a figure would come down in the planning/OMB process. Perhaps some like 33 is more reasonable.

Either way, I really like this intersection but it is in need of constant redevelopment. It is at the intersection of two higher-order transit lines and existing significant density so it is ripe for some higher towers. It would also be nice to break up some of the blandness of the towers/buildings already there. But I would advise against building something so large and dominating as to define this corner of the city by a single building.
 
Does anyone know what to expect from Wittington Properties with respect to building a residential property? Wittington is part of the Weston Empire. Will it be a higher end type of condo or something more moderate?
 
great looking and fairly substantial project! Yonge and St. Clair hasnt seen anything this big for a long time. I think this would really give that intersection a nice boost... and of course some extra height.
 
Does anyone know what to expect from Wittington Properties with respect to building a residential property? Wittington is part of the Weston Empire. Will it be a higher end type of condo or something more moderate?

To the best of my knowledge they have never built a condo before. I would expect something toward the "high end", given the location.
 
Does anyone know what to expect from Wittington Properties with respect to building a residential property? Wittington is part of the Weston Empire. Will it be a higher end type of condo or something more moderate?


Wittington is a major land developer and has substantial land holdings in Toronto. Typically they sell their lands to individual builders to construct condo projects (for example they owned the lands in the Fort York Neighbourhood and sold parcels to Lanterra, Plazacorp, Malibu Investments, Concord etc and have a couple more remaining parcels that will be sold in the near future - they also owned a lot of Liberty Village and sold parcels off to individual builders).

I'm not certain, but I would expect that this property will be sold to another builder at some point.
 
Wittington also used to own the land that today is Avondale. That land was also sold to developers.
 
They also owned land in Islington Villlage, overlooking Islington GC. Took the apl to the OMB, won and then sold it to a developer.
 
From NRU August 15, 2008

YONGE-ST. CLAIR INTENSIFICATION
Community input improves project

A new project approved by council will change the face of the Yonge-St. Clair area. Approved at the July 15-16 session of council, Wittington Properties will develop three residential towers, 15-, 16- and 37-storeys tall, on the site of an existing Toronto Parking Authority-run parking lot half a block north of St. Clair Avenue on Yonge Street.

Following council’s approval of the necessary official plan and zoning by-law amendments, the project is set to go ahead. In addition to the towers, 15 townhouses will be built along Alvin Avenue and Heath Street, a block east of Yonge Street.

Retail space will also front Yonge Street. While the project has been scaled back from the original proposal, the development will result in approximately 470-residential units, though this number may be further reduced.

Wittington bid for the opportunity to develop the parking authority’s site following a public call for proposals in 2006. The development will include development of about 200 TPA spaces as part of a larger underground parking lot serving the residential units. The project will be built at 1482, 1491 and 1501 Yonge Street, 25, 27 and 29 Heath Street and 30 Alvin Avenue.

Wittington is working with Peter Clewes (architectsAlliance) and Janet Rosenberg (JRA Landscape Architects) to design the project.

For Wittington, the project began five years ago in 2003 when it began acquiring the properties, immediately north of an office building Wittington owns. Also, a significant portion of the existing TPA spaces—165 of the 200 spaces—are leased from Wittington and other property owners.

“We wanted to have some influence on what went in next to us and the parking authority was going to be redeveloping its lot,†said Wittington vice president of land development and planning Bronwyn Krog in an interview with NRU.

“We had our eye on it for a long time. They have a big parking lot, but we had bought the Highland Theatre and demolished it and we bought a house or two at the north end of the street for access purposes. We already owned a fair amount of frontage on Yonge Street.â€

While receiving support for the proposal from area councillor Michael Walker, Wittington also engaged in public consultation with nearby residents, forming a working group which included one resident from every street in the neighbourhood, as well as the president of the Deer Park Residents’ Group.

“It allowed us to understand the neighbourhood’s concerns very clearly, and at the same time to explain to them— in a great deal of detail that you could never achieve in a public meeting—why we were doing certain things the way we did and what we felt were important things to achieve,†Krog said.

“Our project is a better project for that public input. I think we had a good project to start with, but this is better.â€

A pedestrian connection from Yonge Street to Alvin Avenue will be developed and a public park will be built as part of Wittington’s Section 37 contribution. Further Section 37 funds will cover park maintenance costs, sidewalk improvements and the widening of Alvin Avenue. The development will include an underground connection between the towers and the nearby St. Clair subway station.

“The city looks for sites for intensification that are located near transit, major arterials, shopping, employment, entertainment,†said city planner Tim Burkholder. “They’ve got it all there.â€

Burkholder noted that the neighbourhood “is a very desirable area because of the amenities that it has.â€

Following council approval, the project entered the 20- day appeal period, which ends August 18.

Yonge-stclair.jpg
 
This is a great addition to the area. And good to see the architecture is not what you would expect for Yonge and St. Clair.
 
Wow... Michael Walker never supports virtually any development applications, let alone something this large.
 
And thankfully Michael Walker does not have full decision authority ... he is only one of Toronto's 44 Councillors who votes on the decision :D
 

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