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Parc Downsview Park

sixrings said:
could barmbardier and woodbine change locations with each other.... then the area arround downsview parc wouldnt be limited to short buildings.
Click to expand...

That would be nice, but I think it's a bit far fetched.

I think they could do better within the current restrictions anyway, especially at the north end of the site, near the Downsview Park/Sheppard West GO/Subway interchange. Obviously they can't put tall buildings there due to the runway, but that doesn't mean they have to build a sprawling commercial area. European cities such as Paris manage very high densities without tall buildings, simply by packing buildings together more. Although it would look less pretty, building the buildings closer and more mixed-use would make the area a more pleasant place to be than the current plan.
 
Interesting article at Daily Commercial News, posted with the usual warning........

RECREATION BUILDING Proj: 9120548-4
Toronto, Metro Toronto Reg ON CONTEMPLATED

Toronto FC home training facility, Downsvew Park, M5A
$30,000,000 est

Start: September, 2011 Complete: September, 2014

Note: Owner is finalizing agreements with the chosen community for the project. Owner is seeking interest from architects to complete design and working drawings and from landscape architects. Owner will complete a roster list of sub trades to work on this project. A general contractor will be secured summer 2011. Further update early summer 2011.

Project: proposed construction of a Premier soccer facility in the GTA for the Toronto FC's Training Grounds. The project will provide Toronto FC's training and development needs while providing over 24,000 hours of community usage to an estimated 1.5 million visitors annually. The scope of work may include two state of the art grass pitches - one dedicated to the Toronto FC first team and the second a stadium grass pitch, with 1,000 capacity bench seating. The stadium will host showcase events - local championships, visiting international team training camps, and Toronto FC Academy games. The building will also feature four full size turf pitches. Adjacent to the training field will be a goalkeeping area specifically designed for keeper training. The outdoor fields will be housed within a 'bubble' to create all-season fields while a fourth all-weather field will be enclosed within a permanent structure. A field house with direct access to the permanent indoor field will be the full-time home of Toronto FC and will include office space, locker rooms for Toronto FC's first team, three Academy teams, and all of the community groups expected to use the facility. The building will also feature workout rooms, and multipurpose classrooms.

Development: New
Category: Recreational bldgs; Retail, wholesale services; Commercial offices
 
Sounds like an ideal candidate to build a 4 storey glass clad showcase on Commissioners Street.
The waterfront is swarming with soccer players looking for a pitch, transit will probably be available in about 10 years.
But best of all it will be "BIG AND SHINY".
 
Trio of councillors hopes to stop Downsview development plans

On April 21, North York community council approved the massive development, which will bring about 20,000 new residents and another 20,000-plus workers to Downsview over the next several years.
It must still be approved by councillors at the May 17-18 city council meetings.

http://www.insidetoronto.com/news/l...ors-hopes-to-stop-downsview-development-plans

3954f8ca4b6da0dfe52f06fbeb53.jpeg
 
So, are the local councillors afraid that the development might promote use of the new Spadina subway extension? Because that would be just awful having appropriate densities in an area served by a new subway line.
 
Or, heaven forbid, help finance the extension of the Sheppard line to Downsview.

One thing that struck me was this: "Augimeri is furious city taxpayers could be on the hook for capital infrastructure costs." I have no sense of the history here, but it sounds like there are some jurisdictional issues at play.
 
I work in the area and I actually have worked with AUgumeri personally... The problem is that the low rise neighbourhood automatically thinks any development that isnt low rise will be apartments for even more immigrants.. They are scared of an even larger Jane and Finch in their back yards... As a result for VOTES Augumeri has to say shes against such development, even though Downsview park looks more like a saviour of the neighbourhood then anything...

This is the same type of NIMBYism thats happening around Lawrence Heights.. The rich who are more likely to vote are not supportive of anyone who suggests their should be more housing in the neighbourhood. Even if its mixed use with 500,000 dollar condos scattered between....

These neighbourhoods have experienced the result of both community housing and high density. Their experiece so far has been in their opinion negative. As a result even though it may be a completely different plan which might end up completely differently, they oppose it because their history shows them that such a plan will fail.

In conclusion, in certain cases NIMBYs should be ignored for their own sake.
 
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I sent a letter to every councillor involved in the decision speaking against the development. So I applaud these councillors in their futile attempt.

For me this has nothing to do with housing densities or infrastructure funds. This has to do with the irrationality of rational planning. Rational planning would dictate that this is a win-win scenerio with densities built-up around mass transit, development charges and land-sales paying for funding for the park etc.

But the reality is that all these rational actors just don't get it. They don't understand that every single sq ft of land carved from the park is a loss to the city not just now but in perpetuity for hundreds of years to come. The last thing this city needs is more land to develop into residential neighbhourhoods. This is the one single and last opportunity we have to assemble a large piece of UNdeveloped land left in the municipality of Toronto. The value of such a land assemblage is priceless even if we lack the maturity to understand or funding to realize a vision for the properties at this time.

Let it go fallow.
 
without Downsview parc redevelopment the subway stop is wasted and the area doesnt get the benefits of regentrification... Ill give up a bit of land to have an improved area...
 
^Makes sense. But the plan doesn't give up a bit of land. It's more like it gives up a little land for a park in the western section of a massive residential development. It's this massive residential component that bothers me. I don't mind uses like soccer fields or stadiums. You can always bulldoze these kinds of usages in the future if necessary. Residential lands are lost to re-purposing forever. There are plenty of marginal land-uses and brownfield lots in the area to redevelop if the forces for regentrification were there.

A massive mistake. It's strange, but if you look at the history of the large parks and plots of land that benefit cities so many are donated to them or at least purposed by wealthy private land owners. It seems that everywhere governments are just incapable of making good long-term decisions in the face of short-term "rational" planning.
 
It would be interesting to see a serious of maps of the park showing the cumulative effect of incremental parcels being designated for development. I dont have a fim sense of where it started when conceived by Chretien vs where it stands now afte all these changes.
 
City Council considered the Final Report - Downsview Area Secondary Plan Review on May 17, 2011 and referred it back to the North York Community Council for further consideration at its September 12, 2011 meeting.

Council also requested the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning, to hold a public meeting to review transportation issues, both air and road impacts with the local neighbourhood. City Planning has not yet provided a date for the public meeting: http://www.toronto.ca/planning/downsview.htm.

See http://app.toronto.ca/tmmis/viewAgendaItemHistory.do?item=2011.NY6.38 for more information on Council's decision.
 
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