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Skymark Plaza redev (3555 Don Mills Road, 34 + 28 + 25 + 7s, Brown + Storey) DEAD

unimaginative2 said:
All the more reason to extend the DRL elevated along Don Mills all the way up to Finch.
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Or at least bring the DRL to Don Mills Station and make a continuous line with Sheppard. The Don Mill/Leslie LRT York Region was studying a few years ago can be brought down Don Mills and connected to the Sheppard East LRT. Some of the at-grade parking areas could be sacrificed for an expanded transit hub and transfer point for a continuous Sheppard-DRL subway line and a continuous Sheppard East-Don Mills/Leslie LRT. Metrolinx can focus on the LRT lines while the TTC handles the DRL and connection with the Sheppard subway.
 
marcus_a_j said:
Or at least bring the DRL to Don Mills Station and make a continuous line with Sheppard. The Don Mill/Leslie LRT York Region was studying a few years ago can be brought down Don Mills and connected to the Sheppard East LRT. Some of the at-grade parking areas could be sacrificed for an expanded transit hub and transfer point for a continuous Sheppard-DRL subway line and a continuous Sheppard East-Don Mills/Leslie LRT. Metrolinx can focus on the LRT lines while the TTC handles the DRL and connection with the Sheppard subway.
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Someone posted on another thread on the minimum radius needed for a line to turn at an intersection. I think a new station will have to be constructed if you want to connect a DRL via Don Mills to the existing Sheppard line (the current Don Mills station will have to be abandoned).
 
http://www.insidetoronto.com/news-s...d-to-meeting-on-future-of-skymark-plaza-site/

Residents invited to meeting on future of Skymark Plaza site

Oct 25, 2012


Plans to replace Skymark Plaza with condos and townhouses will be discussed at a public meeting Monday night.

The owners of the plaza at 3555 Don Mills Rd., east of Finch Avenue, want to tear down the plaza and replace it with four condominium buildings ranging in height from four to 24 storeys and 26 stacked townhouses containing 944 condo units and 100 seniors’ units.

When the proposed development came to North York community council in June, the co-chair of the Skymark Vicinity Neighbourhood Association, David George, said more than 1,350 residents had signed a petition against the development.

The applicants, Willowdale Councillor David Shiner and representatives of the city planning staff will be available at the meeting to answer residents’ questions and provide answers.

The meeting begins at 7 p.m. at Highland Junior Public School at 201 Cliffwood Rd.
A preliminary report on the proposed development is available at www.toronto.ca/legdocs/mmis/2012/ny/bgrd/backgroundfile-47472.pdf
 
Miss Opportunity

There is a miss opportunity for this development and one would hope it can be fix as this plan proceeds.

I would remove the existing retail area and replace with a continue street edge building between 6-10 storey with retail and commercial on the first 2 floors that would tie into the current proposal.

I would place residential unites on top of the grocery store ranging between 6-10 storey and tie it into the tower as well going over the driveways.

The podiums should be sit back for a wider sidewalk and patios along with trees/shrub/flowers.

I would try to reduce the parking space more than what being call for at this time.

Some stone and brickwork along with not square looking building would help.
 
The plaza, in it's current state, is a mess. Parking is a nightmare in this complex at any given time. This plan should help alleviate the traffic in the complex because of the proposed private road/driveway access from Don Mills Rd to Skymark Drive and Finch Avenue to Skymark Drive. I think the parking amounts are fine, especially considering most of the parking will be underground. There will be more retail in this development than currently, not to mention the retail will actually make better use of foot traffic. Let's not forget what the current plot of land looks like today;

SKYMARK-PLAZAx.jpg


I think this development is a huge improvement. I do like the idea of patios and the wider sidewalk, especially considering there are a lot of older individuals in the area.
 
Damn it!

I'm not pleased at all that I missed the meeting - I got off work late and had to run an errand. I have failed the UT community.

Along with myself, I have a considerable amount of family / family friends that live in the skymark buildings surrounding the plaza. Going on nearly 25 years living there (having been born at North York general and growing up there / leaving intermittently during university), I care considerably about the site and the community that lives here.

I'm still awaiting news of the meeting but judging both by the petition that went around / the reactions of some of my neighbours I'm almost certain I know how this meeting went.

The issues that I'm familiar with are:
- congestion
- elimination of a north view for those on the South side of finch, and the elimination of a south / west view for those surrounding the plaza on the north side.
- a detriment to the character of the neighbourhood.

I whole-heartedly disagree with these three points and was prepared to address / confront them at the meeting.

While congestion is an issue affecting most residents in Toronto, this project will do little to contribute to what is an already systematic issue of public transit deficits and lack of adequate investment in curtailing our traffic problems. I'm not sure what the current capacity of routes 39 / 25 are but I'm willing to bet that they could accommodate the extra ridership at the intersection. With respect to traffic heading into the area, I don't think it could get worse. With peanut plaza / fairview to the south, finch and leslie square catering to the growing Chinese community to the west and seneca college immediately east of the site - this site is area in general is pulling in its fair share of visitors.

With sensible parking arrangements (around 1,600 spaces in underground parking + surface) I believe that any increased traffic and vehicular presence can be mitigated. Currently the parking on the site is for a few hundred vehicles and is a nightmare to navigate. Rejecting the proposal on the grounds that it will add to congestion makes no sense as it is endorsing the current, dysfunctional situation - this proposal will provide for a much better experience for those who frequent its shops.

I won't spend a whole lot of time discussing the issue of reduced views because I think it's nonsense. Only a quarter of the existing residents would be affected (those facing into the plaza) - but their views are already obstructed by the other buildings surrounding the site. Any attempts to say that it would only be made worse is false.

Finally any suggestion that this would "threaten the identity and character" of the neighbourhood is ridiculous. First of all the language of that statement makes me extremely uncomfortable and second of all, the character of the community is not determined by a 70's plaza but instead by the fields and natural beauty that surrounds the area. Skymark is in bad need of a proper neighbourhood centre where seniors, the students of seneca / the surrounding public schools can come together and relax comfortably with quality amenities and businesses at walking distance. An inclusion of a public square (that can be transformed for community functions), cafe's with outdoor seating can go along way to making this area even more inclusive.

I know many of these people moved to these buildings for their retirement at the end of the 80's and early 90's. At that time Willowdale was still an isolated community from the rest of Toronto, far enough away to feel like they were outside of the city. With their outdoor / indoor tennis courts, pools and rec. facilities this seemed like a great quiet area to retire to. Alas the city has changed and it's time for this plaza to change with it.

Perhaps it would be a better use of time and energy to sign petitions concerning transit / infrastructure projects rather than preserving a dysfunctional plaza from being enhanced.
 
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Hundreds oppose condo plan for Skymark Plaza

“We’re not opposing this development because we don’t like it. We’re opposing it because it is bad planning,†said Barry Presement of the Skymark Vicinity Neighbourhood Association, which collected 1,350 names on a petition against the development.

“We are deeply concerned that this project is completely out of place and should be rejected,†he said.

James Tang, president of one of the condo buildings surrounding the plaza, said the scale of the project would impose downtown densities and problems on the neighbourhood.

“This is a lot of negative effect on our quality of life,†he said.

But the new development, with predominantly underground parking and areas to walk and sit by fountains, would bring vitality, a new street life and a pedestrian-friendly atmosphere to the site, she said.

One person is worried the condos would be bought by speculators who would rent them to students from nearby Seneca College, changing the character of the neighbourhood.

http://www.insidetoronto.com/news-story/1313564-hundreds-oppose-condo-plan-for-skymark-plaza/

I like the last one, changing the character of the neighbourhood because Seneca students are oh so bad! What do they think is happening in the older buildings? Those units are being rented out to students and have been for years now. Students spend money at Skymark Plaza (shop at the No Frills, go to the Pharmacy, eat at the Subway, Pizza Hut and other restaurants there). They are going to change the character of the neighbourhood, those oh so evil Seneca students! Now our community will never be the same.

Really, some of the complaints are just ridiculous. Too bad I hadn't planned my time properly, as I completely forgot that the meeting was last night. I would have loved to voice my opinion.

Look at the plan. There will be a water fountain feature, underground parking, landscaping, more retail - how is this a bad thing? I just don't get it. Again, do we have to look at what Skymark Plaza looks like today to remind us that this is a huge improvement?
 
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sixrings said:
I miss st hubert
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Me too. They made an RBC out of it, the horror!

You can still get St. Hubert poutine gravy here :). Thankfully I am going to Montreal next month for the UFC fight, so I will definitely be hitting up a St. Hubert while I'm there (can't wait).
 
Wow 400 people turned out. I was expecting the NIMBY turn out but I wasn't expecting that much. It absolutely angers me that these types of people still complain about the increase to traffic. You're a short ride to Don Mills station and also have Finch station as an option. And it's not as if Don Mills hasn't been examined for an LRT...

With so many people opposed I expect it to end up at the OMB since it's not as if the local councilor wants to lose votes.

Any idea how long it takes for staff to write a final report?
 
Now I really feel like I dropped the ball by not attending. I really hope that they hold another meeting.

Absolutely ridiculous statements like "Change the character of the neighborhood". Well Cruzin4u - if they hold another meeting I think we ought to show up and provide our informed opinions.

I think its shameful that these folks are standing in the way of a development like this. This would almost certainly set a precedent for the same sort of development to move into Peanut Plaza, and god knows that Plaza is what has historically "set the character of the neighborhood" with a plethora of assaults being based out of there.

There's also some community housing right at the corner of Van Horne and Don Mills that could use the same sort of facelift that the community housing behind Fairview mall is receiving.

There's a real chance here to turn this into a community rather then leave it as the disjointed entity that it currently is. As it stands the Skymark residents are hidden behind gatehouses and artificial hills. Seneca students are relegated to wander around the area without much to do. Peanut plaza and the surrounding area have welcomed a large portion of new Canadians, but as the facilities and buildings get older the potential for this area to slip further into an impoverished state is real.

This community can be a great uptown cluster, bringing commercial possibilities, a density in housing that can be serviced by its proximity to so many major transit junctures, and if the city plays their cards right, they could definitely get the developers to invest in rejuvenating George Vanier high school and the oriole arena / facilities (much in the same way they got developers to do the same around Yonge and Sheppard).

(St. Hubert's was the shit. Their chicken strips / gravy were my favourite growing up - also that Pizza Hut right there definitely shaved 10 years off my life - it NEEDS to go)
 
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I also wanted to include this map.

As you can see the Don Mills corridor between Finch and Sheppard has some incredible potential to be built up in much the same fashion as we've seen along Yonge between Finch and Sheppard.

Between the geographic boundaries of Finch to the North, Shepaprd to the South, the DVP to the East and Leslie to the West, there are no fewer than:

City Properties / Facilities (Marked in Blue)
- 10 Grade schools
- 1 high school
- 1 College (with dormitory)
- Oriole Community Centre (Ice Rink, Tennis Courts and a swimming pool)
- 1 Public Library
- 1 Fire Station
- North York General Hospital (South East corner of Leslie and Sheppard)
- 10 Fields

Transportation
- Immediate access to the 401, 404 and DVP.
- Leslie Station and Don Mills Station
- Don Mills, Finch (199 Express) and Leslie bus routes.

Commercial
- Skymark Plaza (North East corner of Don Mills and Finch)
- Peanut Plaza
- Nymark Plaza
- Fairview Mall (900,000 ft squared)
- Finch & Leslie Square (North East corner of Leslie and Finch)
- 3 Gas Stations

As you can see from the map, I've marked townhouse properties that could be redeveloped with yellow circles / circled in red the two 2 Toronto Community Housing sites that are being redeveloped.

There's no reason why this block of land can't grow.

UTPeanutMap.jpg
 
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Very nice map Jamziz!

There is yet another grade school between Don Mills and Leslie (Shaughnessy Public School), so that would make it 10. To the South of Emerald City, you have a future phase which will eliminate more public housing. Fairview Library is getting a 4.4 million dollar renovation. You have the Canadian College of Naturopathic Medicine at Sheppard and Leslie. Also, you have another fire station at that location. There is lots going on in this area.

I am going to be contacting Councillor David Shiner and the planning department to express my support for this development. I have already emailed the Architects Brown and Storey ( http://www.brownandstorey.com ) to let them know that I do support the project. They got back to me yesterday with...

We are so pleased to hear from you, especially following the negative reactions we received last night. We really are grateful that you have taken the time to let us know, and that everyone's hard work is appreciated. If it's not too much trouble, could you let Councillor Shiner and the Planning Department know your opinion?

I think it`s time that the voice of reason (those that support positive change in their neighbourhoods) stand up. Far too often we are the ones that don`t say anything, but it`s our time to shine. It seems these `consultation meetings`are just a means for the naysayers to come out and complain.
 
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