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King-Spadina East Park
- Thread starter Northern Light
- Start date
MetroMan
Senior Member
I'm sorry, that's nowhere near King and Spadina. That's practically at Queen and University.
Tulse
Senior Member
It is indeed a very different location than I thought was under discussion. It's not a bad place for a park, but I don't know how much it will help the King/Spadina area.
MetroMan
Senior Member
To be honest, King and Spadina is well served. Clarence Sq. is right there. There's also St. Andrew's Playground at Adelaide and Brant and David Pecaut Square down the street at King and Simcoe.
Clarence Square is being restored with the original fountain being rebuilt. St. Andrews Playground is being extended about 25% on to an adjacent parking lot. For David Pecaut Square, I wish they'd extend the grass to King Street on one end and Wellington on the other and plant far more trees. There's no reason for all that concrete since the events at the square usually take place in the grass circle. The parking lot behind Roy Thomson Hall should be converted into parkland with a permit granted to build an extension for a restaurant or cafe.
Clarence Square is being restored with the original fountain being rebuilt. St. Andrews Playground is being extended about 25% on to an adjacent parking lot. For David Pecaut Square, I wish they'd extend the grass to King Street on one end and Wellington on the other and plant far more trees. There's no reason for all that concrete since the events at the square usually take place in the grass circle. The parking lot behind Roy Thomson Hall should be converted into parkland with a permit granted to build an extension for a restaurant or cafe.
smably
Senior Member
I work at King and Brant and the neighbourhood doesn't seem underserved in terms of parkland. IIRC there is a proposal for a landscaped boulevard along the south side of Wellington to connect Clarence Square to the park at Portland and Wellington, so we're already getting some extra greenspace anyway.
That said, this latest location seems like a decent one, though not far from the south end of Grange Park. And it's actually just as close to City Hall as King and Spadina. But I'm sure it will be welcomed by those in the neighbourhood regardless.
That said, this latest location seems like a decent one, though not far from the south end of Grange Park. And it's actually just as close to City Hall as King and Spadina. But I'm sure it will be welcomed by those in the neighbourhood regardless.
MetroMan
Senior Member
This is interesting:
As Queen West grew more vibrant over the years, I've wondered if the MUCH building and its parking lot could become a more public space. Other than the MMVA's, this is just a parking lot for most of the year, interrupting the vibrancy of Queen Street. Most of the time, it's not even full with just a dozen cars and plenty of free space. It would be great if Bell were to redevelop this space into a public square, programmed regularly with live shows.
As Queen West grew more vibrant over the years, I've wondered if the MUCH building and its parking lot could become a more public space. Other than the MMVA's, this is just a parking lot for most of the year, interrupting the vibrancy of Queen Street. Most of the time, it's not even full with just a dozen cars and plenty of free space. It would be great if Bell were to redevelop this space into a public square, programmed regularly with live shows.
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bgobgo
Active Member
I guess they can't build the Mirvish-Gehry towers now as they will cast shadows on this proposed park. Jk.
Waterloo_Guy
Active Member
I think it was just a newspaper headline that claimed it would be at King and Spadina. They basically made it up. The actual area put forward by the city was much larger in scope.
I think this could be an excellent location, but I doubt Council would be willing to expropriate land for a park. We'll find out soon.
I think this could be an excellent location, but I doubt Council would be willing to expropriate land for a park. We'll find out soon.
PrimeMover
New Member
To put a rough and conservative value to the site from the City's perspective, if the City assumes a development application could achieve Tableau's height of 36 storeys (Tableau being about the same distance from the shadow-protected historically contributing buildings on the north side of Queen) and chuck in a few extra storeys to be nice, with 5 storeys of podium over most of the site, density would be:
5 x 25,000 SF Podium --> 125,000 SF
35 x 8,100 SF Point Tower --> 283,500 SF
Total: 408,500 SF
It would be hard for the City to argue for much less than $100 per foot for the land here these days, so we're looking at $41 million or so. Add to that the Termination Allowance payable under the Expropriation Act, as the owners would not be able to relocate their parking business; this would/will not be cheap.
5 x 25,000 SF Podium --> 125,000 SF
35 x 8,100 SF Point Tower --> 283,500 SF
Total: 408,500 SF
It would be hard for the City to argue for much less than $100 per foot for the land here these days, so we're looking at $41 million or so. Add to that the Termination Allowance payable under the Expropriation Act, as the owners would not be able to relocate their parking business; this would/will not be cheap.
Tulse
Senior Member
But is there any other place in the area that would be cheaper, or is that simply the cost of adding parkland in this general area?
ADRM
Senior Member
It's a good question - I don't know enough about the specifics of this site as it pertains to development favourability and, as such, total cost of land, but if it were anywhere in the neighbourhood of $40-50M (taking into account land acquisition cost and construction costs), I'd be surprised if "the $50 million park" didn't become the new pink umbrella among obstructionist councillors...
MetroMan
Senior Member
I walked by the site and it's quite large seen up close. However, it's stuck between buildings with their backs faced to the lot. To counter act that, the city should get creative and opt for some interesting topography rather than the boring flat park with a few trees and benches. I'd like to see some hills. A woonerf on Nelson Street could be used to extend the park and provide it with an entrance off John St, which will itself see a revitalization with more trees, wider sidewalks and bike paths.
DSC
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I think that the original statement was King-Spadina - which is a `district` that runs (approximately) Bathurst to John and Queen to Front.
ADRM
Senior Member
The city headed in that direction (elevation as a design and usability feature) on the Aitken Place Park, and I agree that a similar treatment would work well here.
pstogios
Senior Member
I find it incredibly galling that Joe Cressy's apparent #1 priority in this ward was this park who's necessity is debatable, rather than the obvious disaster that are traffic on Spadina and Bathurst (the latter of which destroys the reliability of 511 streetcar line). This guys' priorities are completely backwards and the next election can't happen too soon.