Keele-Finch has the oil farms as an issue. There's a restriction to how close residential can be built to them.
Toronto id8 Downsview | ?m | ?s | Northcrest Developments | KPMB
- Thread starter dowlingm
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Keele-Finch has the oil farms as an issue. There's a restriction to how close residential can be built to them.
Irishmonk
Senior Member
That sort of land use seems pretty inappropriate for an area with multiple lines of high order transit. Maybe the oil farms can be relocated? (If they don't blow up first.)
muller877
Senior Member
You are right. We all have to remember one man's trash is another man's treasure (or woman's)
Toronto needs a mixture of build forms for dense communities. if we are homogeneous it would be very boring. Toronto's various villages are all unique and still maintain their uniqueness and that's why I love visiting many off them. Some dense communities have also developed some uniqueness and I hope that continues.
INTz
Active Member
Yes the oil farms there add another dimension (in addition to height) and are definitely an issue for residential use so there probably isnt much of a chance of that being built up (even though CTN is going to propose it and the zoning at 1315 Finch W is mixed use). The Keele-Finch plus study touches on the oil farm restriction (as well as air quality, existing environment, traffic, and other issues), so I refer you there if you are interested (https://www.toronto.ca/wp-content/u...ning-keele-finch-plus-Phase1-staff-report.pdf) - if you take a close look 1315 Finch West is just at the edge of the minimum separation needed.
But there is definitely a chance for employment use density to happen there, as is being built by Haven in its University Heights development as we speak. I personally would like the see that part of the city transition from the manufacturing sector with its sprawling low-rise buildings which has seen significant decreases, to commercial uses and services which are a growing sector and have with higher density high-rise offices, along the arterial routes at least - something which will become feasible with the airport going out of service. They can create a nice tech district there next to York University and put Amazon HQ2 at the Downsview lands
W. K. Lis
Superstar
Damn safety regulations in Canada.
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lenaitch
Senior Member
The one thing I find interesting about this forum is that many seem to think that it is acceptable progress to tear down everything that doesn't match the current paradigm - or at least their view of it - in order to rebuild it to something that does (and, I assume put everyone in tents while that happens). People that own and live in single family dwellings or own legal industries have every right to continue to do so as long as they choose unless taxpayer dollars chose to buy them out.
Evolution, not revolution.
Evolution, not revolution.
rbt
Senior Member
Agreed. They didn't pay single-detached house prices for the land. They're looking for 10+ floors across the entire area.
I'd be shocked if that ever happened anytime soon. Certainly as long as the demand for gasoline is so strong. They need a large piece of land with access to pipelines which is what they have here. Very centralized as well so easy access to gas stations. Not sure they could replicate that anywhere close to Toronto.
AlvinofDiaspar
Moderator
Except our OP and zoning makes it far easier to redevelop certain areas than others.
AoD
SubHuman
Active Member
I would have gone to things like that if I had known about them at the time.
If and when development may cause the Toronto Indy race to be squeezed out of Exhibition Place, I always thought Downsview Airport could have been a good location for it, in the same way Cleveland and Edmonton used airport layouts when they had their IndyCar races, and the St. Petersburg FL race uses a runway for part of its track. It would avoid closing a major road like Lake Shore Blvd, and spectators get good views of much more of the track from good grandstand seats, unlike most temporary street circuits where good viewing locations are very limited because of buildings. At one point, before the IRL/ChampCar merger, Bombardier sponsored both series.
http://www.bombardier.com/en/media/...r-500-indycar-series-event.bombardiercom.html
http://www.motorsport.com/indycar/news/champcar-cart-champ-car-announces-new-partnership/
Edit: And there's Bombardier Vistajet sponsorship on a Ferrari at the 2018 Le Mans 24 Hours and the rest of the FIA WEC races.
http://www.cavallino.com/single-post/2018/04/24/Ferrari-GTs-Are-Tested-for-2018-at-Paul-Ricard
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SubHuman
Active Member
Public Sector Pension Investment Board, who bought Downsview Airport, own AviAlliance, an airport management company. AviAlliance holds shares in five airports, four of them in Europe and the other in Puerto Rico.
sixrings
Senior Member
nobody spent that much money for a runway. They spent it so they could develop.
drum118
Superstar
Again, it was built decades ago after been moved off the waterfront before any idea of high order transit was every thought of and why should it have to move??
Where do you plan to move it to, as it will be a lot harder to do so today than when it was built??
Then, you got to built the transmission line to that new location and we know there a fight to stop one being built now.
It will take million to clean that land like the Portland area.
That area is zone for industrial and employment land
lenaitch
Senior Member
Exactly. It seems everybody wants things constructed of concrete, asphalt, steel and other things but nobody wants the means to produce those materials anywhere near them. Or encourage a high density urban area but not, say, an intermodal site to feed it (I know, 'I'm not against X, just not here'). It's like building residential housing next to farm and them arguing that it is a stupid place for a farm. As well, many types of manufacturing and other industry take large, often sprawling buildings and perhaps large storage areas. Unless we want to surrender even more than we already have, industries like this remain part of the mix. An economy built on pure consumerism is not sound.
innsertnamehere
Superstar
Who knows, maybe they will try to develop it as a new airport facility to rival Pearson. you could build a new passenger terminal close to Sheppard West station, making it transit accessible.