Toronto 954 Broadview (Estonian House Redevelopment) | 50.5m | 14s | Diamond Kilmer | Graziani + Corazza

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(Not sure whether this should go here or in the East York thread)

Tribute Communities is making a move on the old Estonian House on Broadview, between Danforth and Pottery Rd.

Tribute VP Steve Deveaux applied for lobbyist status at the city on Feb. 2.

Friends in the area say Tribute wants to put up an $80M 24-storey condo, 198 suites, in some kind of land development partnership deal with the Estonian community.

There's already considerable organizing and resistance from the locals.

Personally. I wonder whether the slope can handle it. Anybody else remember Pottery Road when the Minto Skyy went up? They said it was just a coincidence ...
 
waterloowarrior said:
958 Broadview Avenue - Request for Staff to Evaluate for Possible Heritage Designation
http://app.toronto.ca/tmmis/viewAgendaItemHistory.do?item=2015.TE4.77
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Wow I've driven by the Estonian House dozens of times and never knew that part of the original Chester Public School still stands on the site.

urbantoronto-6639-21648.jpg


http://urbantoronto.ca/news/2012/11/then-and-now-chester-public-school
 

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I walked around it today. I think the whole thing is still there but just bricked over.

http://www.torontopubliclibrary.ca/detail.jsp?R=DC-PICTURES-R-6458

And this:

On April 1, 1960 the derelict old Chester School building on Broadview Avenue was bought. Four days later the first choir rehearsal took place there. Three years later, a hall seating 600 people, a basement with classrooms and a cafeteria were added. Renovations and additions were largely done by volunteer labour. In 1976 a new section was added to the front.
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I'm not so much worried about the proposed height. And I would applaud anything they did to remove the modern frontage on the old Chester school. Can't really otherwise speak to the project, but I would want to see the original school preserved and for it to continue to read as a separate building, even if incorporated into a new development.

The slope issues on Pottery Road had nothing to do with Minto Skyy and weren't even adjacent to the condo. I'm not worried so much about whether the slope can handle it (just about anything can be properly engineered, and the City simply didn't do its homework when they rebuilt Pottery Road), but am concerned about the environmental impact of the necessary engineering.
 
There is always potential environmental impact when one excavates and constructs a large building adjacent to a slope/green area, mostly the flora and animal habitat that could be disrupted. I worry mostly about the loss of trees, although I have no idea of the condition of the trees near the top of the slope (if the trees are not high quality, the proposed development could lead to plantings of better stock). There are other issues, notably stormwater runoff, both during construction and afterwards. IIRC, the rear of this site consists mainly of a large surface parking lot. If the lot has been there for years, chances are that the stormwater/snow melt runs off into the valley, carrying with it road salt and other toxins. The development may be an opportunity to achive much better stormwater management, if done right.
 
Skeezix said:
There is always potential environmental impact when one excavates and constructs a large building adjacent to a slope/green area, mostly the flora and animal habitat that could be disrupted. I worry mostly about the loss of trees, although I have no idea of the condition of the trees near the top of the slope (if the trees are not high quality, the proposed development could lead to plantings of better stock). There are other issues, notably stormwater runoff, both during construction and afterwards. IIRC, the rear of this site consists mainly of a large surface parking lot. If the lot has been there for years, chances are that the stormwater/snow melt runs off into the valley, carrying with it road salt and other toxins. The development may be an opportunity to achive much better stormwater management, if done right.
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Thanks.

Yes, there is a large asphalt lot, surrounded by mature trees (although not sure of their quality.) Obviously, the neighboring properties have mature trees as well, and I assume that some of them are "quality." Not sure what's on the slope. Probably nothing special except that it runs off into or close to Todmorden's wildflower preserve.
 
24s might be too high, I'm thinking 10-15s, which might be able to work around or complement the original school building. It's neighbour to the north is a large apartment complex but the properties immediately east, north and south are two-and-three story homes and a smattering of small retail.

The immediate community is very well organized and anti-development newsletters were being distributed as far east as Carlaw, almost a kilometer a way. I reckon the developer and city will receive an earful at the consultations.
 
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The nearby homes to the south will have shadow and overlook impacts whether the height is 24 storeys, 15 storeys or 8 storeys. They would arguably benefit from a taller, more slender tower than a shorter, bulkier development. But hard to say at this point, before any plans have been released.
 
Skeezix said:
The nearby homes to the south will have shadow and overlook impacts whether the height is 24 storeys, 15 storeys or 8 storeys. They would arguably benefit from a taller, more slender tower than a shorter, bulkier development. But hard to say at this point, before any plans have been released.
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It's a two-storey Estonian community centre at the base and then 22 storeys of condos above it. I can't imagine that the homeowners on Chester Hill will sit still for this. Their properties must be worth $1.2M plus plus.

There's some kind of strange deal -- or at least it's strange to me -- between the Estonians and Tribute. Not sure who ends up having control but, in my inexpert opinion, the Estonians are giving away a lot of valuable land. These links indicate that there is some division and a lot of secrecy around the deal.

http://www.eesti.ca/a-house-divided/article44199

http://www.eestielu.ca/et/uudised/religioon/230-estonianlife-eestielu/events-sundmused/local-events-kohalikud-sundmused/eesti-maja-estonian-house/3641-to-the-estonian-house-in-toronto-ltd-board-of-directors

http://www.eestielu.ca/en/3657

I have a lot of interest in this because I live nearby and one of my very favourite spots in all of Toronto is the Chester Hill lookout.
 
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