Toronto Wellesley on the Park | 194.15m | 60s | Lanterra | KPMB

Peepers said:
My feelings exactly. Ontario is broke and here we have an idiot like Glen Murray talking about giving away what must be the single most valuable parcel of land in all of downtown!
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I agree..the ORC was able to sell the 90 Harbour street lot which i believe was just a bit larger, for what was it... 60-75 million bucks
this is not an inferior location, and truthfuly the ORC should be able to fetch the same or more per sq, foot.
http://www.ontariorealty.ca/Doing-Business-With-Us/Properties-for-Sale.htm
 
Peepers said:
My feelings exactly. Ontario is broke and here we have an idiot like Glen Murray talking about giving away what must be the single most valuable parcel of land in all of downtown!
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Does imagining more green spaces in downtown Toronto make him an idiot? Just curious. I'm still on the side of developing it though, only because Queen's Park is a block away. Either way we either get a park or high rises instead of the low-rise nonsense that was being batted about here last year.
 
dt_toronto_geek said:
Does imagining more green spaces in downtown Toronto make him an idiot? Just curious. I'm still on the side of developing it though, only because Queen's Park is a block away. Either way we either get a park or high rises instead of the low-rise nonsense that was being batted about here last year.
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No, my characterization of him as an "idiot" is based on having seen him in action before. Nothing to do with this particular issue. I don't agree with a Park in this location but that does not mean I consider proponents to be idiots.

As for more green space downtown this is a very poor location for a park. As you noted, Queens park is just one block west so there is no shortage of green space in this area. If a park were developed in this location I think it would just become a catch-basin for all the undesirables that hang out around Yonge & Wellesley. Also, while this is a large plot of land from a development perspective, it wouldn't make for a very large park or an attractive one considering it would be sandwiched in between the back-end of the Condo's on Bay (would it even get sufficient sun light?) and the run-down commercial buildings on Yonge.
 
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I can only hope that Murray and Tam are playing up a strategy, hoping that talk of a park/university takeover of valuable development land will stimulate compromise and action.

As said above, an urban park only works if the surroundings address it - the back of the Yonge strip was never meant to be seen. Nobody like ugly underwear.
 
I honestly don't care what happens with the site, I would like a park, but I'd also like a landmark supertall.

The most important thing to me is that St. Nicholas Street and St. Luke Lane are connected. St. Luke Lane has such pedestrian potential. I think St. Nicholas Street should continue straight through this empty lot to Breadalbane and the existing St. Luke Lane portion be annexed with the other side of the property. Let that lot be developed like Five condos and beautify the back. Then on the new St. Nicholas Street extension down to Breadalbane put some low rise retail fronting both St. Nicholas and the park.
 
College Park said:
I can only hope that Murray and Tam are playing up a strategy, hoping that talk of a park/university takeover of valuable development land will stimulate compromise and action.

As said above, an urban park only works if the surroundings address it - the back of the Yonge strip was never meant to be seen. Nobody like ugly underwear.
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The underside of a concrete highway was never meant to be seen in a open space/park setting yet it has been successfully accomplished in many parts of the world. All you need is a little creativity.
But you're right, an aA cereal box would be perfect.
 
confusion said:
I honestly don't care what happens with the site, I would like a park, but I'd also like a landmark supertall.
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With Ontario being in the mess its in and selling about everything..i doubt you will be seeing any park here soon..

For what its worth, from DCN...http://www.dailycommercialnews.com/...34d3d5e3044f&projectid=1251884&region=ontario

APARTMENT BUILDINGS, RETAIL, OFFICE
Proj: 1251884-23
Toronto, Metro Toronto Reg ON
CANCELLED
The Opera Place, Phases 5 & 6, West Block, Bay St between Breadalbane and Grosvenor Sts, M5S $30,000,000 est
Note:... Ownership of the land has changed. Ownership has gone to the Province of Ontario. Coverage of this report has been discontinued.
Project:..Phase five: nine storey, 19,000 m2 bldg, 170 units; Phase six: 10 storey, 11,000 m2 bldg, 120 units; with ground floor retail/commercial in each.
Scope:...30,000 m²; 10 storeys; 2 structures; 290 units
 
Hopefully whoever buys the land will come forward with a more ambitious proposal. If we can build tall on sites like FIVE, this seems like a no-brainer.
 
canarob said:
Hopefully whoever buys the land will come forward with a more ambitious proposal. If we can build tall on sites like FIVE, this seems like a no-brainer.
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I'm mixed on this becoming a park but if the site is sold to be developed, I'm all for highrises here too. Highrises & retail on Wellesley, townhomes on Breadalbane.
 
As far as I'm concerned, a park in the middle of the looped driveway may be enough in that area. Without completing Aria's podium, and without screening the back of the buildings and the lane along Yonge with new construction, it would be quite the challenge to design an attractive park in that spot anyway.

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Projects north of here between Yonge & Bay (i.e. Five, Karma) have been given the green light in the 50's, so why not here? I can't think of any shadow concerns and it's not on Yonge, so it seems to me a great site for intensification.
 
This large piece of prime land has been vacant for too long now, the emptiness has created a huge dead zone in the area. Hopefully this time, it's the real deal. With the precedent for new towers along Yonge being currently set at 50-60 storeys, we should also see something of substantial height or scale here as well. More importantly, I'd like to see a strong streetwall with good retail to animate the streetscape along Wellesley.
 
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