Toronto Musée Condos | 53.95m | 17s | Plaza | BDP Quadrangle

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nekz

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There's one building that they are proposing at 525 Adelaide St W.

It's going to be a huge rental building, with average unit sizes of about 500 sq ft. This won't be good for the immediate area, it's way too dense.
 
I don't know where you're getting "too dense" from. This neighbourhood can handle a LOT more density.
 
grey said:
I don't know where you're getting "too dense" from. This neighbourhood can handle a LOT more density.
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I wish I took notes from the planning meeting last night, but you'll see.
I forgot how many units there is, but the way they proposed it, it was pretty nasty.

It's going to be nearly the same height as Six50 King, but full of renters instead. It will be like another Fifty on the Park, but more dense.
 
urbandreamer said:
Is there something wrong with renters? I'm a renter and love it: freedom!
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Nothing wrong, except for the graffiti in the elevators.

Fine, I admit my bais. Nothing really wrong with renters... They pitched it as "allowing other people to enjoy the area that normally couldn't afford to live there". Again, that is biased too, just because one rents, doesn't mean that they can't afford to own.
 
I believe that there was little if any solid critique of this building last night. One lady who lived across the street was concerned with the 33 meter roof (she had different colored socks on soooo.....), another gentleman had problems with the massing of the building. The only reasonable comment was from a well-dressed gentleman who asked: 'why can't we have taller towers with smaller footprints to help break up these low, chunky buildings.

Vaughn was on top of his game (he really is good isn't he!) and calmly explained that the OMB grants height based on the surrounding structures and not what might be most appropriate for a certain site. Because of this, if you give one developer 40 stories, they all feel that they are entitled to that, even if their plot doesn't appropriately mass the height. He did say that he likes tall towers where appropriate though.

That said, while the building wasn't the most beautiful structure ever, it did present an interesting treatment for what will, in the end, be a cheap building. The architects have massed the structures on the outside of the plot leaving a 15m space between them for a small, 'European style' courtyard. There will be a major, mid-block pedestrian connection running along the south side of the site connection Adelaide Place with Bathurst which will be 4m wide. All along the ground floor of that connection, the courtyard and Adelaide Place there will be artist lofts from Artscape (If I heard correctly) which will have artisans, not just painters. 40% of units will have a balcony which will not wrap continuously around the building, allowing it to become an extension of residents' garbages (bike storage, etc.), but will punctuate it at intervals, leaving enough space to enjoy the outdoors. Furthermore, it will not have a LEED certification or green roof.

Freed Developments had a cool model on site which they were using to show all the plots which have something proposed or under construction. I got some pictures but I haven't looked at them yet so I'll post if they are good.
 
The building in question is being designed by Core, is it not?
 
Adelaide Place to Bathurst? Sounds like a very wide building. Is the proposed infront of the current buildings or are they to be demolished?
 
ProjectEnd said:
Vaughn was on top of his game (he really is good isn't he!) and calmly explained that the OMB grants height based on the surrounding structures and not what might be most appropriate for a certain site. Because of this, if you give one developer 40 stories, they all feel that they are entitled to that, even if their plot doesn't appropriately mass the height. He did say that he likes tall towers where appropriate though.
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Oh, and I loved his rebuttal to the lady who said that the bigger units wouldn't sell, so there was no point having them. He said how he wanted to see a certain number of units (for FashionHouse) as 3 bedroom units, to accomodate families, so that the city could sustain itself. Of course, this opens a whole other can of worms, but his logic was pretty sound. Completely shut her up.
 
Walked by this site on the weekend and wondered whether there were any development plans.

Yay! Death to another ugly parking lot!
 
525 Adelaide

Does anyone have a copy of the plan or know if the existing buildings will be demolished?
 
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From Adam Vaughan's newsletter:

Charles Gane of Core Architects presented a proposal for a new mixed residential and commercial building at 525 Adelaide Street West, at a site that is currently a parking lot. The proposal is for a 17-storey rectilinear building, which would include 635 rental residential units, and 26 commercial and artist live-work spaces at grade. The units would be between 350-950 square feet, with 60% one-bedroom apartments, with the rest composed of two-bedroom and bachelor units.
The building height would be 45m on the side closer to Bathurst Street, and 35m on the Adelaide Place side. Loading would be enclosed in the building, with an entry from Adelaide Street West, and a one-way (in only) driveway on Adelaide Place. The base of the building would have a masonry focus, with a more transparent and glassy look to the building at upper levels.
The building would be constructed with a 10m setback on Adelaide Place, with a 1.8m buffer and 1.2m canopy around the building to create circulation around the building. A mid-block connection would be created between 525 Adelaide and the buildings to the south, where a brick courtyard would be restored. A courtyard would also be created in the centre of the building, which would be animated by the artist and artisan spaces at grade.
Concerns were raised by residents about the impact on the Victorian residential houses on Adelaide Place, which would be directly across the street from the proposed development. The height, thickness and design of the building were also criticized, as well as the lack of family-sized units.

The developer is in the process of preparing their applications for this proposal, which have not yet been submitted.
 
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