I would like to see the dowdy Grace Hospital (a palliative care facility) on Church Street close and merge with its Scarborough relative. That would also free up the parking lot they own on the southwest corner of Bloor and Church. The building dates from the early 50's.
Walking from my place on the waterfront to Queen St yesterday, I couldn't help but think many of the parking lots on John could be put to better use...
I would like to see the dowdy Grace Hospital (a palliative care facility) on Church Street close and merge with its Scarborough relative. That would also free up the parking lot they own on the southwest corner of Bloor and Church. The building dates from the early 50's.
I'm puzzled by why and how it still exists there, too. But they oughta make oodles off the land whenever they do so. (Maybe that's why they're holding out, the devils.)
I'm puzzled by why and how it still exists there, too. But they oughta make oodles off the land whenever they do so. (Maybe that's why they're holding out, the devils.)
Now that CanWest owns Alliance Atlantis (via Goldman Sacks), perhaps they'd want to finally relocate downtown on this lot and be neighbours with their most recent acquisition?
I would like to see the dowdy Grace Hospital (a palliative care facility) on Church Street close and merge with its Scarborough relative. That would also free up the parking lot they own on the southwest corner of Bloor and Church. The building dates from the early 50's.
Walking from my place on the waterfront to Queen St yesterday, I couldn't help but think many of the parking lots on John could be put to better use...
Recently, a developer told me that he had once contacted every surface parking lot owner in the King/Spadina area to discuss redevloping their lots on a JV basis. Almost all of the property owners laughed him out of the room. It seems that the city's by-law that prohibited the "creation" of new surface lots (i.e. by demolishing existing buildings) has turned all the existing surface lots into gold mines. The confluence of three forces -- high income, low property taxes and large capital gains taxes that would be applicable to a sale of these properties -- means that it will be a while before many of the surface lots disappear.
My 2 cents: the city should hike property taxes on surface lots (and, for good measure, should eliminate property taxes entirely for surface lots that are converted to sub-surface lots with parks on top).
Walking from my place on the waterfront to Queen St yesterday, I couldn't help but think many of the parking lots on John could be put to better use...
As for the lot on the southwest corner of John & Adelaide, Adam Vaughan reported tonight that he has been approached numerous times by developers interested in projects at this site, but that the price of the land was such that the proposed height has been greater than the city indicated would be possible. Presumably, that means the developers were asking for Shangri La height (65 storeys) as opposed to Festival Tower height (47 storeys). Vaughan said that he would soon be hearing from yet another proponent for the John & Adelaide site.
Vaughan also said that several OMB decisions had rendered useless the heights envisioned for the eastern half of the area in the King Spadina Secondary Plan. The challenge now, he asserts, is to have building height scale down appropriately west of University from Shangri La height to District Lofts height (10ish storeys(?)).
263 Adelaide St W needs to go - the building is old and the elevator doesnt work anymore - that one and the parking lot beside it should go. I think a retail concourse should be built there instead!
The fire station (the one where all the brides get photos coming down the pole - like 5 every wknd now) across the street is too loud for residential concerns.
263 Adelaide St W needs to go - the building is old and the elevator doesnt work anymore - that one and the parking lot beside it should go. I think a retail concourse should be built there instead!
There are quite a few lots around Spire in the Adelaide Richmond area east of Yonge. Right on the edges of the Financial district, those can easily be redeveloped into supertalls.
There are quite a few lots around Spire in the Adelaide Richmond area east of Yonge. Right on the edges of the Financial district, those can easily be redeveloped into supertalls.
There's a lot right on Colborne between Church and Leader right in the heart of the St Lawrence Market area. Anybody know who owns that and if there are any development plans for it? Would be a fantastic site for a funky loft.
There's a lot right on Colborne between Church and Leader right in the heart of the St Lawrence Market area. Anybody know who owns that and if there are any development plans for it? Would be a fantastic site for a funky loft.
I was talking to someone who lives in Market Square recently who had just met a developer who has just bought this site. Stay tuned!
As development moves further east along Front Street the block east of Sherbourne on the south side of Front seems ripe for (re)development - even if Sobeys have just spent lots of $$ to open their store there.
Then the is the Greyhound depot on the north side of Front just west of Sherbourne. This lot apparently belongs to the City - can one easily check on land ownership in Toronto? The St Lawrence Neighbourhood Assn appaently wants at least part of this lot converted into a park.
