Toronto 155 St Dennis | 184.8m | 56s | Cityzen | Hariri Pontarini

FORE!
#1 hole.
Cranes for

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Fantastic news! Now can we please get St. George's to follow suit??

St. George and Islington both have potential insofar as much of their land is outside the floodplain; the downside for both is the relative lack of same fronting major roads where large scale intensification might be plausible.

Both have some major frontage, but both run behind a lot of backyards whose sites would be the real prize if the courses were converted to parks/development.

The question for both of those sites would be whether the payout for an upscale, moderately dense subdivision on the non-floodplain lands would make sense to them.

Of all the courses in the City, taking into account developable land, major road frontage, neighbours etc I would personally rank Oakdale as the next likely candidate for sale/development.

With lots of frontage on Sheppard, Jane, and 400, its issues w/neighbours are low, and access to transit is good.

Factoring in the floodplain, an existing stormwater pond, and a desire for continuous trails/parks, I would envision a 60% park, 40% development split on that course and can see workable economics.

Cedarbrae up on Steeles might be tempting, but should really be acquired by the Government of Canada to add to Rouge Park, allowing the park to run along the Main Rouge river as well, up to about 407.

There are other opportunities but all have material obstacles.

Lambton is one with potential, and benefits from have a hydro corridor (albeit a narrow one) as a buffer on its southern extent. The challenge there is just the extremely low existing density which would work against favourable economics there.
 
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The developers plan to submit a formal application to the city in the new year, but many details — including whether the towers will be condos or rentals or both — are still being worked out, says Craig Lametti, partner at Urban Strategies Inc, planning and urban design consultants on the project. “We’re working through those scenarios right now, but there will be a component of affordable housing on-site,” he tells Post City.

The current plan proposes about 2,500 residential units across the four towers, which range from 42 to 56 storeys in height, Lametti confirms. Because much of the golf course site is undevelopable due to factors such as flood plains and slopes, the towers have been pushed to the northern border of the site along St. Dennis Dr., just south of Eglinton Avenue East and the under-construction Crosstown LRT line.

Four years of land studies have informed the proposal’s layout. “One of the concerns that I had right off the bat was, is there a possibility to actually build here — is it in a flood plain?” However, results from technical analysis work, including hydrological and geotechnical studies, erased Valela’s concerns: “We’ve done all the studies and feel very confident that you could build there safely and that it’s not going to be a flooding issue.”

On a design level, the hope is to achieve a development that’s as unintrusive to the natural backdrop as possible. “What we have are four towers that are sort of slightly rounded and sculpted, and they sit on a very thin, porous base,” says Lametti of the design Hariri Pontarini Architects has created.

“It’s not like one of those large podiums that you see on developments,” Lametti adds. “The intent is to blur the lines between the valley and St. Denis Drive.”

The application process, as well as talks with the community and various stakeholders, will determine what, exactly, the park includes. However, Lametti provides some insights into features that might be incorporated. “We’re looking at not only new trails and places for the community to gather but also more trees, native vegetation, new wetlands, enhanced riparian zones, which are the zones along the edge of the river,” he explains. “All of those elements, we think, have an opportunity within this parkland.”

Conversations will also decide the park’s ultimate ownership status. “We’re planning on having discussions with the City of Toronto, the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority, and First Nations rights holders, amongst other organizations,” he says, noting any of those groups could be given the land.

Ahead of any formal submission to the city, the community-engagement process is beginning. The development team is hosting an event at 10 Gateway Blvd. today (Nov. 9) at 6:30 p.m. to discuss reimagining Flemingdon Park Golf Course, which will continue to operate pending the project’s approval.

Lametti describes the proposal as a “win-win” for addressing two core issues at once. “We have this housing shortage, but at the same time what we see in places like Toronto are neighbourhoods that feel they’re being overwhelmed by new development and that the public infrastructure isn’t keeping up,” says Lametti. “Yes, we’re delivering much-needed housing — housing that’s a short walk from new rapid transit — but in doing so we’re delivering 40 acres of new parkland for the community.”
 
The app is in!

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From the Docs:

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Aerial View from South-East

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Aerial View from North-East

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View from DVP/ST. Dennis

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There's even more renders, but I'm outta space! Text-based details in the following post.

For those in search of the remaining renders, consult the bottom Arch. File in the AIC.
 
Now, (mostly) stuff from the other Docs (non-renders)

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From the landscape plan (welcome to nature by CCxA)

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Whew..........ok, I'm done for now, LOL

Comments to follow later, along with a deep dive on some of the restoration/nature stuff!
 
Nice Ice condo style looking towers ! I would like to know how many of these towers have passed the 150m mark lol! I think Maybe three out of four towers.
 
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That said - i continue to be very critical of if this area is really appropriate for these scales of densities given the complete lack of amenities within walking distance and poor pedestrian connections to transit. This one is interesting as it has only 450 parking spaces for 2,170 units... I feel like that may become problematic as a lot of people are going to want cars here.
 
That said - i continue to be very critical of if this area is really appropriate for these scales of densities given the complete lack of amenities within walking distance and poor pedestrian connections to transit. This one is interesting as it has only 450 parking spaces for 2,170 units... I feel like that may become problematic as a lot of people are going to want cars here.

Yes - it isn't clear how the project will ameliorate the issue. The density is ok given it is pretty close to a transit stop - but the quality of the connection sucked.

AoD
 
That said - i continue to be very critical of if this area is really appropriate for these scales of densities given the complete lack of amenities within walking distance and poor pedestrian connections to transit. This one is interesting as it has only 450 parking spaces for 2,170 units... I feel like that may become problematic as a lot of people are going to want cars here.
Yes - it isn't clear how the project will ameliorate the issue. The density is ok given it is pretty close to a transit stop - but the quality of the connection sucked.

AoD

I agree w/the concerns expressed above.

I will say, the distance to the Crosstown is ~300M (at the station at Wynford), which is served by elevators. (I stand corrected on this, I saw drawings at one point for them, but they did not get built)
But the distance to the O/L is more substantial; as is the distance to most basic community amenities.

Unless I missed it, there is no on-site retail proposed, that to me is somewhat surprising. I think, at the minimum a convenience store, and perhaps a cafe of some type would be viable here, and a desirable amenity.

****

There is an acknowledgement of the need for off-site active transportation improvements, (there were so many things I couldn't include in only 2 posts); with those falling under TBD. (negotiated with the City).
But I'm not sure that's sufficient. Additional retail, particularly grocery, needs to be closer at hand. It doesn't necessarily need to be on this site, but somewhere else is that a relatively short walk (let's say under 500M) and pleasant.

Right now, the closest grocery to the site is Marche Leo, north off Wynford at ~700M away; the Loblaws Super Centre at Don Mills, 1.4km away, and the supermarket in the Flemingdon plaza, also 1.4km away.
Clearly, the latter are entirely unreasonable in terms of a walking orientation for the development, while the former is not only still at the outer limits of a reasonable distance, it simply isn't large enough to deal with the demand growth if it had to serve said needs.

The distance to the elementary school (which will be swamped by all the intensification) is also ~1km; and about the same for the Library and Community centre which are next door.

There needs to be some thought as to how to bridge that proverbial walkability gap.

That said, the potential here in terms of ecological restoration and added parkland is as good (or better) than any development proposal we've seen.
 
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