I didn't realize this huge site was owned by the province. I pass by it everyday on my way to the YMCA. It's been dormant for decades and a real drag on the area. I'm surprised city council has let it sit for so long without pushing the province to develop it, considering it's public property. Yeeesh! I'd welcome a park/mixed use development here in a heartbeat.
 
Interesting that Morguard (they built & manage the rental building next door) has had their name about every 20' on the hoarding around this property for the last decade, now the name-plates have all been removed.
 
dt_toronto_geek said:
Interesting that Morguard (they built & manage the rental building next door) has had their name about every 20' on the hoarding around this property for the last decade, now the name-plates have all been removed.
Click to expand...


There are now small white signs dotting the property outlining provincial rules on trespassing. To me this confirms that the property is no longer in legal limbo with Morguard.
 
jozl said:
I didn't realize this huge site was owned by the province. I pass by it everyday on my way to the YMCA. It's been dormant for decades and a real drag on the area. I'm surprised city council has let it sit for so long without pushing the province to develop it, considering it's public property. Yeeesh! I'd welcome a park/mixed use development here in a heartbeat.
Click to expand...


hasn't the province owned this land for decades? it has had multiple proposals over the years on it... one was some sort of shopping district to do with the provincial offices across bay when they were proposed. they dropped it for budgetary reasons..

another was that opera house thing in the late 80's or early 90's.

I am truly amazed the province has held on to this property for 40 years and hasn't even turned it into a parking lot.

another thing I noticed with that "development potential" render has detailed models of all the future developments in the photo. (with the exception of Britt condos) five, nicholas residences, U condos, and the glouchester development are all there...
 
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The meeting of Council next week has a Member Motion from Kristyn Wong-Tam asking for City officials to negotiate to buy the land. http://app.toronto.ca/tmmis/viewAgendaItemHistory.do?item=2012.MM25.7

When he was at the St lawrence Neighbourhood Assn a week or so ago, the MP for the area (Glen Murray) mentioned that there were moves in this direction and hoped an offer could be made. We shall see!
 
"I don't think there's as large a site as this in the downtown that's been a potential green space in a long time," says Wong-Tam. And given the rapidly developing ward she represents, there may never be another opportunity like this again.


Amen to that.
 
I'm pretty sure the province just gained full control of this in the past year or so.
 
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The current driveway/parking garage entrance is kind of awkward- it basically prevents a linear park going from Wellesley to Breadalbane. Wonder if there are any ways to move it so that you end up with a chunk of space that is more contiguous, accessible from multiple paths and visible along arterial roads for safety reasons.

AoD
 
operaj11.jpg
 
Turning the full lot into a park seems excessive, especially with Queen's Park literally a block away. Make between 1/4 to 1/3 public space and let the rest go high rise.
 
Here are some facts:

The area bounded by Davenport-Church-Queen-University has experienced unprecedented growth over the past 5 years.
• This area grew from 32,075 (2007) to 39,827 (2012) for a change of 24.17%
• Conservative estimates predict 19% growth by 2022.
• Little to no outdoor recreational or green space space has been added to match growth, with greenfield development reducing green space.

Places to Grow, 2006
2.2.4
5. Urban growth centres will be planned to achieve, by 2031 or earlier, a minimum gross
density target of:
a. 400 residents and jobs combined per hectare for each of the urban growth centres in the City of Toronto

Current Conditions
• Current density is 708 residents and jobs per hectare(source: City of Toronto)
• Expected to increase to approximately 775 residents and jobs perhectare by 2022.
• There is currently twice the prescribed density, 20 years early.

• There are currently over 45 high-rise residential buildings in this defined area.
• There are 11 high-rise residential buildings currently under construction, an additional 9 buildings proposed and 6 mixed use high-rise towers under development.
• Total additional 8731 units and growing.

There are currently 39,827 people living on 228.9ha of land
• There were 25,331 dwellings in 2011, with approximately 9,000 more being added and counting. Most of these dwellings have no backyards or balconies.
• The City of Toronto has the lowest allocation of park space per person in Canada.
• There is an average of 0.1hectares of park space/1000 people in this neighbourhood (total 4.29hectares).
• Each person is serviced by 0.09sq. meters of park space in this area.
• This number will only decrease as additional residential units are constructed.

• Many regions across Canada have parks standards supported by both municipal and provincial legislation. The average standard of park space to have a healthy, livable
community is 2.79hectares/1000 people. (Evergreen Canada)
• Ottawa, Vancouver, Winnipeg, Regina, Richmond, Edmonton, and many other municipalities across Canada have some sort of green space standards.
• New York City has nearly twice as much green space per person at 23.1 metres squared per person compared to Toronto’s 12.6 meters squared per person. (Planning
Institute of Colima)
• Vancouver has been in the process of building 8 downtown parks over the past 15 years. (City of Vancouver)
• Ottawa has set a benchmark of having each dwelling in the city within 250 metres of a park space, with much of the city falling under this standard. (City of Ottawa)


• The Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe is a 25-year plan that
aims to:
– Revitalize downtowns to become vibrant and convenient centres.
– Create complete communities that offer more options for living, working, learning, shopping and playing.
– Curb sprawl and protect farmland and green spaces.

Places to Grow Plan
• The Growth Plan recommends that:
– 4.2.1.4 Municipalities, conservation authorities, non-governmental organizations, and other interested parties are encouraged to develop a system of publicly accessible parkland, open space and trails, including shoreline areas, within the GGH.
– 4.2.1.5 Municipalities are encouraged to establish an urban space system within built-up areas, which may include rooftop gardens, communal courtyards and public space.

Info from this pdf
 
I think this is a great idea and desperately needed in the area. What would be nice if they could do some kind of European style courtyard park, with some cafe's etc bordering the green space,
 
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