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BP South (The Baby Point Inc, 3s, ?)

A Torontonian Now

A Torontonian Now

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Location
Bloor & Jane
This is a development at 368 Jane Street, at the corner of Jane Street and Raymond Avenue, which is just south of Annette.

I walk by the site regularly since moving to this end of town a bit over a year ago. There has been no activity on site, beyond posting some new promotional material earlier this year (previously stated occupancy 2018, now states occupancy 2019).

Proposal is for 4 semi-detached and 2 detached houses.

In my opinion, it is a waste of a location that could support a nice mid-rise apartment building (4-6 stories), with retail at ground level. This is right in the middle of the Baby Point retail strip, albeit on the less active west side of the street.

Marketing website:

https://bpsouth.com/

Streetview:

https://goo.gl/maps/CU86CjiudxE2

Condominium Application:

https://www.toronto.ca/legdocs/mmis/2018/ey/bgrd/backgroundfile-116966.pdf
 
homepg.jpg
 

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Still no activity, aside from being boarded up. The "coming 2018" sign and "Occupancy Summer 2019" banners are both still up.

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It's a bit obscured behind the banners in this picture (taken earlier this week) but there's a large tree that collapsed into the site during a windstorm more than a month ago that remains where it fell.

I don't mind the inaction, though, because I hold out hope that a developer with a better vision than townhomes picks up the site.
 
The plot thickens (or thins).

A few weeks ago, I spotted some piles of dirt on site. At first glance I thought this signalled the start of excavation. Closer up, it was clear that nothing has been dug, and no equipment was on site. Still, I thought it a sign something was going to happen.

Fast forward to today and those dirt piles are still there, having sprouted weeds. The site is being used as a dumping ground. The "occupancy 2019" banners are down, which I would consider a good marketing move if it weren't for the fact that the "coming 2018" sign remains.

Here are some pics taken this morning:

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The site has become a dump for unscrupulous dump truck drivers. I live in the area and I have observed the heaps of excavated material piling up.

In the fall, whoever was dumping didn't even bother to put the modulock fence back up. Modulock fence like that is not going to keep anyone out. All it is capable of doing is stopping lazy thieves from entering the site. All that holds the fence together is a series of U bars connecting the tops of the adjacent panels.

In the summer, I noticed that there were several loads of excavated sandy soil. That tells me that someone is digging in the neighbour hood because the entire west end of Toronto from the lake up to about Davenport is built on naturally compacted alluvial sand from ions ago when the shores of Lake Ontario came that for north. (I can't stand construction companies that dump illegally like that. You know they are charging their clients for disposal, but instead of properly disposing of the excess material, they illegally dump. What I can't understand is how the adjacent properties didn't hear anything.)

Anyway, from about 4 loads, it has recently grown to probably 12 or more loads. Now the loads are mixed with concrete, timber, and some assorted debris.

I finally had enough and called 311 and reported it about a week ago. 311 issued me a case number, and then actually called me back a few days later saying that the bilaw inspector would call me the next day, but that didn't happen.

I told 311 that the Modulock fence in question isn't secure. Any fool can easily remove it. What is needed is site clean up by the Owner and then the installation of proper chain link fence until such time as the site is developed.

Off hand, I don't think the developer can sell those (ugly) units for the 1.6 million he is dreaming about. And probably 1.6 is the starting number for the small unit. Probably wants just north of 2 million for a larger unit with a few upgrades. I could not justify that kind of dough to live on Jane Street. Obviously, he can't sell the units at price or he would have moved to construction. I think it's the same guy who tore down the old gas station on the east side of Jane a block north of Annette and built those boxes there.

I agree that the best solution would be ground floor retail with 3 or 4 floors of rentals above, but residential is quick easy money. (If you can market it.) For 1.6 million you could buy a house on a near by side street, have your own yard, a bit of room and peace and quiet and 400 k for a reno. As opposed to living on a busy street like Jane.

Hopefully, the guy flips the lot to someone who wants to build retail.

And more immediately, the City of Toronto forces the Owner to clean up the site and put up a solid fence!!
 
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The city should definitely be encouraging mixed-use development at this location, since it looks like it could be an attractive and thriving mixed-use area. There's little that's appealing about the proposal, which is single-use and relatively low density. That combination of features won't make for a thriving mixed-use area with good shopping and dining options for local residents. Even the architecture is tepid.

Density should increase in the commercial core of a neighbourhood, and spread thinner as you move away from the core. The density supports the commercial core built around the arterial road, which is Jane Street in this case. The arterial road supports the density with transit options and through traffic.
 
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I wonder if some of the dump trucks are dumping from the Dundas and Beresford dig. That site was in a similar state where the builder was supposed to maintain a clean, filled site when it just became a dumping ground for garbage and dangerous fencing. Now that they have dug, they built the hoarding so close to the corner that it's really dangerous pulling out of Beresford onto Dundas.
 
Well, this lot is not getting any prettier. You can see fresher lumps of dirt, with concrete chunks, piping and other debris, piling up in front of the long grown over ones.

Pics taken July 2:

IMG_20200702_063821.jpg


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One advantage of the 10 ft tall weeds is that they obscure the "Coming 2018" that would otherwise still be visible at the bottom of the marketing sign:

IMG_20200702_063827.jpg
 
Towered said:
I wish the retail strip around Jane and Annette could be connected to Bloor to the south and Dundas to the north.
Click to expand...

Would also like to see the retail along Annette fill out to better connect the cluster near Jane to the cluster near Runnymede.

In time and with some intensification along both Jane and Annette, it might be possible.
 
Ottawan said:
Would also like to see the retail along Annette fill out to better connect the cluster near Jane to the cluster near Runnymede.

In time and with some intensification along both Jane and Annette, it might be possible.
Click to expand...

Could be difficult with all those detached homes lining the street...
 
Was there a gas station that used to be there or something?
 
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