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development

FoSTRA – a vibrant voice for downtown

by YQNA

The York Quay Neighbourhood and its surrounding wards sit at the heart of the most active urban development in North America. The construction planned for the area over the next 10 years has no precedent. Anticipating large scale disruption to our neighbourhoods, the Federation of South Toronto Residents Associations, FoSTRA was created in 2021 to collectively advocate for good urban design.

FoSTRA currently supports YQNA and its neighbours in 24 south Toronto residents associations and four neighbouring wards. It is driven by a belief that neighbourhoods must be comprehensively planned at the street and block level. Development must go hand in hand with transportation and infrastructure investments, and unavoidable neighbourhood displacement and disruption requires thoughtful planning and close collaboration with residents. Networks of walkable public spaces, whether they be parks, open spaces or strategic tree plantings should be non-negotiable.

FoSTRA has established four key working groups focusing on intensification, affordable housing, parks and the environment. The association has submitted opinions to planners and politicians on close to 20 issues ranging from the Strong Mayors Act to co-ordinating construction scheduling to reducing the impacts on residents, employees, businesses and commuters. Participation in these working groups is open to all YQNA members.

If you are interested in helping to support neighbourhood associations in their advocacy for good urban design, or if you are interested in reading any of FoSTRA’s submissions, please go to fostrato.weebly.com.

Written by Mary Hirst,
Vice-chair of FoSTRA and YQNA member

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developmentOntario Place

Ontario Place Worth Saving

by YQNA
A fictional image of Therme’s glass structures with pools and palm trees, proposed at Ontario Place. No buildings are transparent. Public space is reduced to a sliver around the 10-acre site.

Toronto is the fastest growing city in North America and has a serious lack of green space. A revitalized Ontario Place is part of Waterfront developments that include parks and public spaces along the downtown lakeshore. It is now in serious danger of becoming a profit-driven destination at the invitation of Premier Doug Ford. What was intended as public space, could now require high-price tickets to enter a massive tropical spa proposed by the Austrian company Therme. It features 10 acres of palm trees and pools under glass. Entry is expected to be $40 plus extras for treatments and services.

The U.S. company Live Nation is contracted to run the upgraded open Budweiser Stage. Frequent concerts would block off a large area to the public that had not bought a high-priced ticket. A third development party, Ecorecreo of Montreal, has apparently dropped out of the Ontario Place bidding. The details of the provincial government’s negotiations to commercialize Ontario Place are not available, since they were made behind closed doors and without public consultation. They were never mentioned in the run-up to the provincial election.

The future of this precious Waterfront site looked very different in 2012, when Mayor John Tory was chair of the Ontario Place Revitalization Panel. He wrote recommendations for bringing Ontario Place into the 21st century with an expanded public park to celebrate its connection to Ontario and the lake. The original iconic floating structures designed by architects Eberhard Zeidler and Michael Hough remained protected. This grand scheme would require public-private partnerships to create a revenue stream to realize the 55-acre park site in the west end of Ontario Place, always with the public in mind. That was then, this is now. Premier Ford has declared John Tory as ‘strong mayor’ with veto power, unless the council vote goes against provicial interests. That makes the city-owned land at Ontario Place easy pickings for the province, whether council likes it or not.

YQNA invited Ken Greenberg, leading urban designer in Toronto and many other world cities, to present the threats to Ontario Place. Here is his gripping presentation, Sept. 13, 2022. He urges the people of Toronto to join the growing protest against the commercialization of Ontario Place. It requires action from people like us, so join the campaign spearheaded by the citizen’s group Ontario Place for All at https://ontarioplaceforall.com to see the multiple ways you can participate.

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development

200 Queens Quay West Redux

by YQNA
New design for 200 Queens Quay West, at Harbour St. and Lower Simcoe St. Image: Diamondcorp.

What a difference a year can make!

On January 12, 2021, the City held a (virtual) community consultation meeting about this project. At that time the 8 storey parking garage, with frontage on Harbour and Lower Simcoe Streets, was going to be demolished and replaced by a 12 storey podium on much the same footprint, topped by two residential condominium towers of 41 and 71 storeys. Vehicular access was to be taken from the existing driveways serving the Waterclub complex.

Now we are learning that the developers, Diamondcorp and Lifetime Developments, have responded to input from City staff, the Waterfront Design Review Panel, and the community, to come up with a revised proposal.

As the rendering (right) shows, the idea now is for one tower towards the east end of the site. The height is 59 storeys on a 5 storey podium, yielding 1002 units and 400 sq m of commercial space close to Lower Simcoe Street. 10% of the units are still to be affordable. The green space at the intersection of Lower Simcoe and Harbour Streets is increased slightly to 500 sq m and is now intended to be a public park rather than publicly-accessible private land.

The access for parking, loading and drop-off is to be from Harbour Street. They are planning for 340 parking spots on 4 levels underground, 150 for the residents and 190 for paying customers. Parking and storage is proposed for 1003 bicycles.

A second community information meeting was held on February 9, 2022 via Webex. Click here to see a presentation by Toronto city planner Sue McAlpine on recent developments at 270 Queens Quay West.

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development

New GO Bus Station is Open

by YQNA

An attractive new GO bus station has opened inside the first phase of the CIBC Square on Bay St. across from Union Station. This ambitious development will have two office towers with a distinctive glass diamond pattern, rising 49 and 50 storeys. Connecting the two will be an elevated park across the railroad tracks, which is bound to become a popular meeting place.

The GO bus station replaces the sketchy old bus station just south of Front St. It used to send buses rumbling through city streets and had people lined up outside. Now, the buses enter from the Gardiner Expressway via Lakeshore Boulevard and no longer clog city streets. Passengers use the well-marked entrance on the north side of Lakeshore between Bay St. and Yonge St. When CIBC Square is completed in 2024 there will be more entrances added.

Arriving buses drop their passengers at ground level, then take the ramp upstairs to the departure level. Passengers can find their platform on travel screens in the comfortable hall, while waiting to hop onboard their GO bus. Clear signage makes it easy to navigate the levels via escalators, find washrooms and even a vending machine offering masks.

This is an excellent example of how a public facility can be completely integrated into an office tower. International developers Ivanhoe Cambridge and Hines deserve high praise for their vision, not only for the bus station, but also the elevated park, retail and other public amenities in CIBC Square. They are adding vibrancy to both their buildings and the city.

The work of three international architectural firms—WilkinsonEyre, Adamson Associates and EVOQ Architecture—will make CIBC Square a Toronto landmark. The first tower is near completion at 81 Bay St. The second tower began recently with the excavation north of the tracks. Urban Toronto offers more information.

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developmentmeeting

News from YQNA

by YQNA
A north view of the proposed condo towers at Lower Simcoe and Harbour Street, designed by Wallman Architects for the developer Diamondcorp. 

The lake is still a magnet that draws people from the GTA, even if COVID-19 has cut back on most public events and attractions. Tour boats are busy again, and just sitting in a Waterfront park or sauntering on the boardwalks is a treat during hot summer weather. Through it all, YQNA continues to keep an eye on new developments. Our July Zoom meeting had over 100 participants (see the Draft Minutes), and here are some issues we discussed.

✔  Guest speakers Steve Diamond and Lauri Payne spoke about the proposed redevelopment of the parking garage at 200 Queens Quay W at Lower Simcoe (actually facing Harbour Street). The site was sold by the federal crown corporation Canada Lands, allowing for two towers of 45 and 55 storeys, to Diamondcorp and Lifetime Developments. Mr. Diamond presented the plans by Wallman Architects for towers that are 41 and 71 storeys. He justified the significant added density by pointing to the similar height of other buildings in the area. The developers claimed that the height would minimize impacts on the neighbourhood in regard to parks and flight paths, which was received with some scepticism. The current unsightly garage that fills the entire site would be replaced by two buildings with increased setbacks from the property line, which would allow for ample sidewalks, parking and lanes for biking, and a small parkette on Lower Simcoe Street. Requests for connecting this building to the PATH system would be considered, said Diamond.

The Waterfront BIA is concerned about the loss of this large parking facility on the Waterfront. The new project offers 441 parking spots, with half of them commercial spaces. The towers — if built in 3-4 years as proposed — would have 1482 condos, including 10% affordable units. The main concern for the neighbouring Waterclub condo residents is crowding. The 71-storey tower would be overwhelmingly tall and block the views from many condos. An additional 3,000 residents would greatly increase traffic and services, and make the car access to Queens Quay a real bottleneck because it leads to a mere two-lane street. Mr. Diamond listened to residents and intends to keep meeting as the project evolves.

✔ Work on Love Park at Queens Quay and York St. will begin in November, first by cleaning up the site by removing the bents (concrete pillars), then by cutting down most of the mature trees. Only five will remain, and 38 new trees will be planted. The heart-shaped pond will be home to an old Catalpa tree, and above it will be an illuminated pink heart. To the delight of dog owners: the dog corner will be enclosed and become an off-leash area.

✔ A large military Hercules 4-engined turboprop passed very low by the Harbourfront high-rises on July 8 in an extremely close and hazardous maneuver. It was completely unprecedented, and many residents and passers-by wrote to YQNA that they expected a crash. A formal YQNA request to the commander of the Canadian Forces Base Trenton for an explanation has so far met with “it’s business as usual”. The investigation continues.

✔ The prospect of e-scooters on our already busy sidewalks has been postponed until next year, pending reports from cities that have experience with health and uncertain insurance related to injuries. The Waterfront is largely pedestrian and may not be suitable for motorized scooters.

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