Toronto Davisville Jr. Public School Redevelopment | 14.93m | 3s | Snyder Architects

AlbertC

AlbertC

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http://www.zuza.com/news-story/1310...-future-plans-with-developer-being-discussed/

Davisville school's future plans with developer being discussed

SEP 14, 2012


The TDSB has already discussed plans that would bring about a partnership with developers, with the school site redeveloped to include both the school and residential towers.

Councillor Josh Matlow said at a meeting on Wednesday, Sept. 12 that a first concept brought forth by the school board called for a 30-storey building on the school site and another eight storey buildings on Millwood Road.
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30 stories?
Public school?

Sideways Stories from Wayside School.jpg
???

I just hope they put an elevator in this one.
 

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junctionist said:
It would be unacceptable to lose this school, with its excellent midcentury Modern architecture. The school board should use money from redevelopment to restore it, if necessary.
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The TDSB just got its capital budget yanked by the Province for egregious overruns - they're going to be even more desperate for condo cash than when they did North Toronto CI. It took some serious pushing to get even minor heritage elements retained there - the developer certainly wasn't looking to.
 
Link via Urbanation:

http://davisvilleparents.files.wordpress.com/2012/05/davisvillepackage-final-aug-23.pdf

In response, your Trustee asked us to re‐examine the parameters behind our project. Working with your Superintendent and TDSB's planning staff, we have reduced the program accommodation requirements on the site; still within the program parameters approved by the Board (see pg. 10, q. 7 for more information). This has the effect of reducing the pressure for the amount of residential development needed on the site to move forward with the redevelopment project. The resulting outcome on the site (within the build‐to‐envelope that was agreed to by the LSCDT) is that we are able to remove the 20 storey tower element and revise the heights to a master plan option on the site with only mid‐rise development (7‐12 stories), while maintaining the same amount of open space along Millwood Road.**

Summary of the current proposed master plan for the Davisville Redevelopment Project:
• 3‐storey integrated school and residential development on Davisville Avenue;
• Mid‐rise residential development (7‐12 storeys) along Davisville Avenue;**
• Playground, field and open space along Millwood Road;
• School‐only access lane along east edge of the site with underground school parking; and**
• The goal is to have the current school remain operational during the build.**

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They're calling for demolition of the existing school for a blander and less remarkable new school. The current building has quite unique architecture that's both creative and whimsical, and bold and confident. There really is no similar school building in the city, and it brings to mind other creative elementary school buildings built in the same era such as Carleton Village Public School and Lord Lansdowne Public School. Such great buildings should be preserved.
 
junctionist said:
They're calling for demolition of the existing school for a blander and less remarkable new school. The current building has quite unique architecture that's both creative and whimsical, and bold and confident. There really is no similar school building in the city, and it brings to mind other creative elementary school buildings built in the same era such as Carleton Village Public School and Lord Lansdowne Public School. Such great buildings should be preserved.
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I totally agree!
 
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news...th-city-over-development-plan/article9002153/

Rumble in North Toronto as school board goes toe-to-toe with city over development plan

JAMES BRADSHAW
The Globe and Mail
Published Saturday, Feb. 23 2013, 6:00 AM EST

The Davisville school land, a valuable mid-town plot just off Yonge Street, is the crown jewel in the board’s grand plan, a vision that includes a brand-new school built into a 12-storey condo tower. But city officials are resisting, arguing the plan is an affront to rules that protect neighbourhoods from hungry developers. With the cash-starved board willing to go to the mat, the fate of this small, aging school could determine how Toronto balances its need for strong schools with its promise to control growth.

“This is going to be a scenario that we’re going to see come up across the city,” Mr. Matlow said. “The school board has a sincere and honest interest in repairing its facilities; the city has a sincere and honest interest in protecting its neighbourhoods.
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The board’s plan hinges on a liberal interpretation of strict city planning rules. While Davisville JPS sits in a low-rise “neighbourhood”-designated area, much taller apartments sit just across the street on Davisville Avenue’s south side, because the land south of the avenue is designated for high-rises. A document prepared by the Toronto Lands Corp., a subsidiary of the TDSB that manages its real-estate revenue, argues mid-sized buildings like the proposed 12-storey Davisville tower “can provide a natural transition between neighbourhoods.”
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How anybody can argue for low-rise in this location is beyond me. Considering the many high-rises across the street and the subway next door this is the perfect spot for taller. If not taller certainly significantly dense.
 
Though it's interesting that the article did not acknowledge the potential heritage issue at all (i.e. this being one of the more picturesque "Etherington schools" from 60s Toronto)
 
This is at Community Council right now for heritage designation.

The TDSB wants this building to not be designated, arguing that they simply cannot afford it to be because of their huge rebuilding deficit.

There were three deputants who argued that this building is simply too beautiful an example of its time to let it be turned into landfill.

The school principal is outlining issues with the building like very poor airflow, heat loss during the winter, stairs that don't meet safety code, and a roof that is failing in a number of places and leaking very badly when it rains. (Tiles and pieces of wall are falling.) Parents applauded at the end of that deputation.

A community activist is looking for a community centre in a rebuilt school/community centre building on the site.

Arguments have been impassioned on either side.

Councillor Matlow moved that the heritage designation of the building be indefinitely deferred. Carried.

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It's definitely among the more distinctive public schools of its era with its pitched roofs, the playful pattern in the windows, the bold window frames and the varied geometry. The city is better off preserving interesting architecture like Davisville Public School. It gives the community character, a sense of place and ultimately, more value.

Any development that preserves and restores the building would be better than another banal condo. The problems identified by the principal can be rectified through renovations. The TDSB can still sell the land, build a new school and ensure the building is preserved and incorporated into a new development.
 
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The school's principal actually had a longer list, and there was a well-produced video of what's not working at the school made by one of the parents. Renos are not going to be that easy at the school: classrooms are smaller than most, the gym is one of the smallest in the board, and there are more problems that are more of the scale of demolition-type fixes than mere renovations to end up with a school that works. This is a tough question, with no obvious answer.

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What would become of the Metropolitan Toronto School for the Deaf and the Spectrum Alternative School located in the same building?

By the way, I like how it is hilarious in hindsight the proposed 30-storey condo would be earlier in this thread:

sideways-stories-from-wayside-school-jpg.9404


Looks like Wayside School will become a reality. Louis Sachar, author of the Wayside School series, should be a guest speaker in the school's assembly once it becomes official; yes, he is still alive.
 
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