AlvinofDiaspar
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From the Star:
400,000 SQ. FT.
Plan grows for new Etobicoke courthouse
City to examine project of 400,000 square feet
Jun 16, 2008 04:30 AM
Paul Moloney
City Hall Bureau
Plans for a new provincial courthouse in the Six Points area of Etobicoke have become more expansive.
The province wants to buy about 1.6 hectares of city-owned land near Bloor St. and Kipling Ave. for a project that has quadrupled in size since it was first revealed to a city hall committee last month.
The city will be asked to okay a courthouse development of 400,000 square feet on two levels, with the ability to expand in the future, members of the government management committee learned last week. It was originally going to be 100,000 square feet.
But city council should be careful to sell only the amount of land the province would truly need to build its courthouse, said Councillor Peter Milczyn (Ward 5, Etobicoke-Lakeshore), who represents the area.
"My only concern at this point is the amount of land they're seeking," Milczyn said. "Council ultimately has to make it very clear to the province that we're happy to sell the land to them, but only the land they actually need."
Milczyn said he wouldn't want to see the province sitting on excess land because that could stall long-held redevelopment plans to replace the Six Points interchange ramps with a new city centre for Etobicoke.
The city owns a total of about 8 hectares in the area.
A new courthouse, along with plans for a new YMCA nearby, are important facilities that could help to attract private developers to the site, he added.
"I want the balance of the development to be commercial, and generate the highest potential value to the city in terms of land value and taxes that would be paid down the road," Milczyn said.
The councillor said the city should also pressure the province to build a courthouse that would be a prominent landmark.
That could include building a public square in front, complete with sculpture or other forms of public art, he said.
The committee is recommending that city staff negotiate the land sale with the Ontario Realty Corp., the provincial agency that handles real estate acquisitions for the provincial government.
A spokesperson for the realty corporation couldn't be reached for comment.
http://www.thestar.com/News/GTA/article/443983
AoD
400,000 SQ. FT.
Plan grows for new Etobicoke courthouse
City to examine project of 400,000 square feet
Jun 16, 2008 04:30 AM
Paul Moloney
City Hall Bureau
Plans for a new provincial courthouse in the Six Points area of Etobicoke have become more expansive.
The province wants to buy about 1.6 hectares of city-owned land near Bloor St. and Kipling Ave. for a project that has quadrupled in size since it was first revealed to a city hall committee last month.
The city will be asked to okay a courthouse development of 400,000 square feet on two levels, with the ability to expand in the future, members of the government management committee learned last week. It was originally going to be 100,000 square feet.
But city council should be careful to sell only the amount of land the province would truly need to build its courthouse, said Councillor Peter Milczyn (Ward 5, Etobicoke-Lakeshore), who represents the area.
"My only concern at this point is the amount of land they're seeking," Milczyn said. "Council ultimately has to make it very clear to the province that we're happy to sell the land to them, but only the land they actually need."
Milczyn said he wouldn't want to see the province sitting on excess land because that could stall long-held redevelopment plans to replace the Six Points interchange ramps with a new city centre for Etobicoke.
The city owns a total of about 8 hectares in the area.
A new courthouse, along with plans for a new YMCA nearby, are important facilities that could help to attract private developers to the site, he added.
"I want the balance of the development to be commercial, and generate the highest potential value to the city in terms of land value and taxes that would be paid down the road," Milczyn said.
The councillor said the city should also pressure the province to build a courthouse that would be a prominent landmark.
That could include building a public square in front, complete with sculpture or other forms of public art, he said.
The committee is recommending that city staff negotiate the land sale with the Ontario Realty Corp., the provincial agency that handles real estate acquisitions for the provincial government.
A spokesperson for the realty corporation couldn't be reached for comment.
http://www.thestar.com/News/GTA/article/443983
AoD
