Toronto 2280 Dundas West | 127.5m | 38s | Choice Properties | Hariri Pontarini

[Northern Light]

No huge news, just a report on this from CBC in advance of tonight's meeting

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/dundas-bloor-redevelopment-1.4159586

 

[smably]

Just got back from the public consultation. Not a whole lot of new information was presented -- plans really are in the early stages, and the meeting was mostly about soliciting feedback. Turnout was very good, clearly more than the organizers expected. One interesting tidbit that Gord Perks mentioned in his remarks is that the Catholic school is actually on TDSB land, which might complicate things a bit if the properties are to be consolidated.

There's a site for the development here: http://www.choicereit2280.ca/

Display boards are here:
http://s22.q4cdn.com/975527453/file...choice-display-board_final-boards-website.pdf

 

[steveintoronto]

Just got back from the public consultation. Not a whole lot of new information was presented -- plans really are in the early stages, and the meeting was mostly about soliciting feedback. Turnout was very good, clearly more than the organizers expected. One interesting tidbit that Gord Perks mentioned in his remarks is that the Catholic school is actually on TDSB land, which might complicate things a bit if the properties are to be consolidated.

There's a site for the development here: http://www.choicereit2280.ca/

Display boards are here:
http://s22.q4cdn.com/975527453/file...choice-display-board_final-boards-website.pdf

Many thanks for that Smably, I only just got in an hour ago, headed back out, so couldn't have made the meeting, but I'm very reassured if the turnout was high. Roncy is a very conscientious neighbourhood, and the link you provided looks like the developer's approach will work well with the hood.

I chuckled glancing at their site to read this:

The site is only two kilometers from the nearest highway, the Gardiner Expressway, providing driving commuters access to various destinations further afield.

They may find it better to bury that kind of approach further down their list. What the community will welcome is people who want to walk and cycle, it will prove to be a pivotal point.

Being TDSB land might actually work in favour of including the school. They've only just caught up on decades of maintenance backlog on the building. Since TDSB lease it to the Catholic Board, it might render transition that much easier to negotiate, or perhaps even a sale of the land with a lease-back option to the Cath Board if included in a new building.

Thanks again for that, it sounds like an odd thing to state, but I have a good feeling about this project, and so do others.

 

[vic]

Near the end of last night's meeting, I took photos of all of the Post-It boards to gather up an idea of what the attendees were thinking about this development. Probably more interesting than the display boards. Zoom in on the photos, and most notes are readable.

Link to gallery:
https://goo.gl/photos/mqHKnNgAyTnspber6

 

[steveintoronto]

Near the end of last night's meeting, I took photos of all of the Post-It boards to gather up an idea of what the attendees were thinking about this development. Probably more interesting than the display boards. Zoom in on the photos, and most notes are readable.

Link to gallery:
https://goo.gl/photos/mqHKnNgAyTnspber6

Only had brief chance to scan the comments, but from what I see, it's overwhelmingly the gist I gather from locals. Kudos to the PR company handling this, btw. With this kind of community input, it helps the developer immensely in plotting direction and tack. And the trend of comment is very much minimal car, pro-pedestrian/cycle. And also cultural, in an unpretentious local way, like the Revue Cinema, and some of the excellent (bars...I hate the term, played far too many in the day) that Roncy hosts.

Many thanks for that vic. I'll comment further when I have a chance to read all of those notes.

 

[Momin]

Update:

Few Toronto settings whet the appetite for urban revitalization quite like the shuttered Zellers near the southeast corner of Bloor and Dundas. Engulfed by surface parking, the defunct retailer is at the heart of an underutilized 10-acre (40,000 m²) big box site that's slated to be redeveloped into a new mixed-use community.

 

[steveintoronto]

Update:

A very well written article. Others will comment further on many of the details, but this is a special concern for me:

That would enable better integration of the site into the urban fabric and street grid, as well as more direct connections to the TTC's Dundas West Station, GO, the Union Pearson Express (UPX), and the West Toronto Railpath.

Not indicated or specified is the earlier appearance on City drawings of a direct connection *through* the Perth/Sterling Development to the planned Lansdowne GO Station. It is early in the game, but I wish to be assured that Castlepoint Perth/Sterling has not blocked that projected route. I'm pursuing inquiries on that.

It's a small but *very* important point.

 

[interchange42]

We have a new database file with plenty of preliminary renderings for this development, linked at the top of the page, and a new front page story with all the news about what's going on here, including this weekend's open house. There's lots to consider here!

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[Midtown Urbanist]

Looking forward to hearing more about this early next week.

 

[interchange42]

Looking forward to hearing more about this early next week.

Not sure what you expect is coming "early next week".

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[Toronto1834]

This looks almost the same as the renderings shown at the first Dufferin/ Bloor redevelopment meeting.

 

[Midtown Urbanist]

Not sure what you expect is coming "early next week".

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Was hoping to hear new details from the public presentation, if any.

 

[interchange42]

It will be interesting to see if anyone reports from the open house today.

I can tell you some other things that I learned from Choice on Friday: with this proposal, Choice is essentially announcing their arrival as a major new developer. They already own and manage tons of commercial property across the country, and they are the lead at Lake Shore and Bathurst with the new Loblaws and Joe Fresh HQs, but Concord is the residential partner there. With this site, they're going to do it all. They're going to retain the commercial space as part of their portfolio, so they are emphasizing that they're building this to be a legacy, no cutting and running here; they want to be able to show this site off as a calling card.

Here are the images from the database file:

Looking into the site from Dundas

Looking north through the site

Looking south through the site

Looking south through the site

Looking southeast from the site

Looking northwest into the site

Notions of connection to transit stations.

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[smably]

Well, I just got back from the public presentation and there wasn't a whole lot of new info beyond what was in the front-page story, but I did get a few little tidbits:

• A southern bridge over the rail corridor is off the table for now as the property doesn't extend far enough south to be able to land on the MoCA property without a very long, oblique diagonal connection (unfortunately the land that could have accommodated this connection on the other side of the tracks is all going to be townhouses).
• Apparently they're looking into the feasibility of widening the south sidewalk on Bloor under the rail underpass, including a dedicated cycling path with a potential ramp connecting to the railpath, so hopefully there will be some kind of reasonable railpath connection. This connection may still be expensive and complex as it will require tunneling under an active rail corridor.
• In order to build up against the rail corridor, there will need to be a fairly tall crash wall, so they're talking about using the space on top of this wall as an outdoor public space overlooking the tracks.

I got a photo of the site plan, as shown on one of the displays in the room, unfortunately with a ton of glare. But hopefully still enough to give an idea of what they're thinking at this preliminary stage:

 

[interchange42]

You can also see in that site plan where they are proposing that the GO station platforms be extended south to, and that they'd be accessible from a new bridge above the tracks.

Also, that white building at the south end with the courtyard in it is where they are proposing the school be relocated. One more reminder that shape of the school, and pretty much everything else, is notional at this point.

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