Toronto 2453-2469 Bloor West | 47.2m | 12s | Leader Lane | BDP Quadrangle

Here are the slides I caught:

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The materiality is interesting. In addition to it being mass timber, they are looking at other carbon-sensitive materials, porcelain tile cladding being one such possibility. They are also considering OKO Skin. Hopefully there is not too much value engineering to come.

Based the above slides, I offer the following:

The retail ft2 needs to be higher, and occupy more of the Bloor frontage.
To achieve this, parking access space at the grade level must be reduced, so assorted functions can fall back deeper into the building.

***

I think you'll see pressure to tier the Bloor edges. Normally, I think the instinct would be for a tier down at the west side, however, it's the east side that will cast shadow earlier in the day, possible one might offset this instead though setbacks above the podium on Bloor.

***

On colour, Terracotta all the way!
 
Wow how did i miss this proposal.

...Well, there goes my dentist office
If this is the Bloor West Dental Office, it just abuts, but is not part of, this development.

I attended the yesterday's meeting as well. Just wanted to add, in addition to @A Torontonian Now 's summary, is that the proposal is 91 residential units with 38 parking spots that are mechanically accessed (I think that was the term), which suggests some kind of hydraulic system given the footprint of the site. The developer team emphasized that they were targeting an end-user demographic, but the suite mix seems to suggest they would still need a good proportion of investors to make the development viable.

Councillor Perks did express concern about height and shadows. While the rep from the Swansea Ratepayers Association cited the Bloor Street Avenue Study to support a 6 storey limit, Perks seemed to suggest the "right height" could be 8. But he also warned that if this went to the Ontario Land Tribunal, the approved height could be higher than the proposed 12. Though I believe mass timber is limited to 12 storeys currently, so something higher would be just your regular concrete tower.

It will be very interesting to review their formal development application to get a better sense of the proposed design, though the material options presented do suggest they are considering the neighbourhood aesthetic.
 
Based the above slides, I offer the following:

The retail ft2 needs to be higher, and occupy more of the Bloor frontage.
To achieve this, parking access space at the grade level must be reduced, so assorted functions can fall back deeper into the building.

***

I think you'll see pressure to tier the Bloor edges. Normally, I think the instinct would be for a tier down at the west side, however, it's the east side that will cast shadow earlier in the day, possible one might offset this instead though setbacks above the podium on Bloor.

***

On colour, Terracotta all the way!
If it's this image to which we're referring:

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I don't know how retail could occupy more of that frontage? It's all retail except for the exit stairs and a small lobby (good, the smaller the lobby the better!). It would also appear that the 'parking' in the centre of the floorplate is actually bike parking. This would have to go here as short-term bike parking is required and if the below grade levels are accessed via a car elevator, the City won't let you put it down below.

Could not care less about the height.
 
If this is the Bloor West Dental Office, it just abuts, but is not part of, this development.

I attended the yesterday's meeting as well. Just wanted to add, in addition to @A Torontonian Now 's summary, is that the proposal is 91 residential units with 38 parking spots that are mechanically accessed (I think that was the term), which suggests some kind of hydraulic system given the footprint of the site. The developer team emphasized that they were targeting an end-user demographic, but the suite mix seems to suggest they would still need a good proportion of investors to make the development viable.

Councillor Perks did express concern about height and shadows. While the rep from the Swansea Ratepayers Association cited the Bloor Street Avenue Study to support a 6 storey limit, Perks seemed to suggest the "right height" could be 8. But he also warned that if this went to the Ontario Land Tribunal, the approved height could be higher than the proposed 12. Though I believe mass timber is limited to 12 storeys currently, so something higher would be just your regular concrete tower.

It will be very interesting to review their formal development application to get a better sense of the proposed design, though the material options presented do suggest they are considering the neighbourhood aesthetic.
Great summary of the meeting, that's always appreciated.

Unfortunately my dentist is a couple doors down so it's a part of the redevelopment. This is actually the 3rd time one of my dentists office has been subject to a redevelopment proposal in the last ~7-8 years, all of which are along Bloor St:)
 
Wow this is overwhelming Bloor West Village with the height and all these condos in the same surrounding area. Although it sounds grand, will they experience the same issues Bijou is experiencing with water! The height should be less than 12 floors. The design is really a squeeze for a small area. The traffic already at Jane / Bloor and South Kingsway / Bloor is nuts.
Architects and designers should put their heads together not focusing on the design of the building but the design of the roads and area to reduce traffic and how this condo will create more
conjestion! It all sounds grand, but our infrastucture is old. There are issues now at Old Mill with the construction and everything that was to finish a year ago or 2 years ago has not.
It is so sad to see that we are losing our heritage at Bloor West Village as it is not the same as it used to be. I feel sorry for the people who are by the laneway this is a huge
obstruction and privacy for them. And this area both on south and north side of road for businesses that will open will experience problems, as people tend to go more East
on Bloor rather than west of Jane for shopping. This has always been an issue with the stores in the past. Good Luck!!
 
Wow this is overwhelming Bloor West Village with the height and all these condos in the same surrounding area. Although it sounds grand, will they experience the same issues Bijou is experiencing with water!

A hydrology report will be submitted with the application.

The need to de-water sites is quite common in Toronto development, particularly for buildings that have deep digs, or those next to major urban river valleys.

This can be minimized in most cases by providing less parking (fewer levels of underground parking means less deep digging and more chance of staying above the water table)

The height should be less than 12 floors.

It probably will be, The Councillor has suggested he'd like it lower, and I think it will come down just a bit.

The design is really a squeeze for a small area. The traffic already at Jane / Bloor and South Kingsway / Bloor is nuts.

If parking is kept to a minimum, then, for the most part, owners/renters here won't have a car and that issue will largely be moot. This would be a good reason for you to participate in the planning process for this site and advocate for low to no parking.

Architects and designers should put their heads together not focusing on the design of the building but the design of the roads and area to reduce traffic

The City is set to implement cycle tracks for this stretch of Bloor to promote cycling, and to improve pedestrian conditions as well.

Encouraging more people to walk, and bike, particularly for local trips is key. Good cycling infrastructure, lots of bikeshare, wide sidewalks with healthy trees and warm pedestrian lights to make the area feel inviting after dark are all do-able. So is promoting carsharing.

Boosting transit use is also important, but more challenging in the near-term, given that the subway is already here. That said, there is room to advocate for making Jane Station a good deal more functional (and larger), as well as more attractive and amenitized in order to induce more people to take transit.

That station is very capacity constrained and oddly built. Fixing it, comprehensively will be a fair few dollars.

There are issues now at Old Mill with the construction and everything that was to finish a year ago or 2 years ago has not.

That's really not related; but in any event, the Old Mill project will be done long before this starts.

It is so sad to see that we are losing our heritage at Bloor West Village as it is not the same as it used to be.

The best of Bloor West Village is independent, strong retail, with some architectural variation and a human-scale as you walk along Bloor. This can be achieved with towers over top/behind. There are some excellent examples in the City. I would encourage you to look for them, and bring them up in meetings or emails w/the developer or Planning to encourage a best-practice build.

I feel sorry for the people who are by the laneway

This will be something of an impingement for those particular owners. But they can ask for mitigation or compensation and may well get something if the ask is 'reasonable'.
 
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Wow this is overwhelming Bloor West Village with the height and all these condos in the same surrounding area. Although it sounds grand, will they experience the same issues Bijou is experiencing with water!

As someone who has been documenting the progress at Bijou with extreme regularity, and walking by there even more often than I post photos, I have not witnessed any groundwater issues at that site. It is possible that they have some dewatering equipment I have not paid attention to in the construction staging area at the east end of the parking lot, but even if so, it all seems well under control.

The height should be less than 12 floors. The design is really a squeeze for a small area. The traffic already at Jane / Bloor and South Kingsway / Bloor is nuts.

The traffic at those two intersections is bad, and rush hour (and even some other times) can be nuts. This has to do with north/south through traffic coming to/from the Gardiner that needs to do the short foray on Bloor to continue from South Kingsway up Jane, and vice-versa. It is a very poor intersection design that has nothing to do with this development and that this development will not impact in any meaningful way. The City is aware of the issues with the intersections and already plans to study improving them.

Architects and designers should put their heads together not focusing on the design of the building but the design of the roads and area to reduce traffic and how this condo will create more conjestion!

This has very little parking and is a transit-focused development.

It all sounds grand, but our infrastucture is old. There are issues now at Old Mill with the construction and everything that was to finish a year ago or 2 years ago has not.

The watermain work is the City being proactive to ensure there is sufficient infrastructure. The fact that it is late has something to do with the comedy of errors that has stranded the TBM (tunnel boring machine) where it got entangled in the tie-backs. Again, this is an issue not really related to this project, and will be resolved before construction here.

It is so sad to see that we are losing our heritage at Bloor West Village as it is not the same as it used to be.

BWV is constantly changing, some for the better, some for the worse. That is the nature of neighbourhoods. In my opinion, the worst thing to happen recently was when Amber restaurant closed. There still are some good pierogies to be found nearby, but not as good.

More seriously, though, the BIA remains very active, as does the community, and the retail strip remains vibrant (vacancies do not last long), so the core of what I would consider the area's heritage remains in tact.

I feel sorry for the people who are by the laneway this is a huge obstruction and privacy for them.

It is not ideal for these folks, but anyone buying a home backing a commercial strip in Toronto a 2 minute walk from a subway station should not act surprised that there is development pressure.

And this area both on south and north side of road for businesses that will open will experience problems, as people tend to go more East on Bloor rather than west of Jane for shopping. This has always been an issue with the stores in the past. Good Luck!!

Now you're arguing it both ways - on the one hand, this development that is replacing some retail will ruin the character of the area, but on the other you are arguing that the retail to come to this site, which has always had vibrant retail, will somehow not succeed. I simply disagree. Retail to the west along Bloor has been successful (up to where it ends at Old Mill Drive) in the past, is so presently, and I am sure will be in the future.
 
Listening to the news this morning, I heard that Ontario, especially Toronto is going to experience shortage of electricity - this is not good news. So why are we building high towers of condos in an area as Bloor West Village where the infrastructure is very old and cannot handle the voltage!! A lower tower is much suitable (6 Story) not a 12 story - are you crazy!! It is enough that Bijou is going to be a pillar and their construction is experiencing issues as well as issues on Old Mill Road. Engineers did not plan it well. Also, for business this side of the street both north and south does not attract people for business so that will be a waste of space. Everyone heads East on Bloor and OMG the traffic with now single lanes and bikes --
Good Luck - remember Bijou was to be completed now so maybe the developers should speak with them before they start to see what issues they may experience especially water!!
 
Listening to the news this morning, I heard that Ontario, especially Toronto is going to experience shortage of electricity - this is not good news. So why are we building high towers of condos in an area as Bloor West Village where the infrastructure is very old and cannot handle the voltage!! A lower tower is much suitable (6 Story) not a 12 story - are you crazy!! It is enough that Bijou is going to be a pillar and their construction is experiencing issues as well as issues on Old Mill Road. Engineers did not plan it well. Also, for business this side of the street both north and south does not attract people for business so that will be a waste of space. Everyone heads East on Bloor and OMG the traffic with now single lanes and bikes --
Good Luck - remember Bijou was to be completed now so maybe the developers should speak with them before they start to see what issues they may experience especially water!!

This seems to be all the same issues you raised in your previous post and which were addressed by @Northern Light and I already, above. Perhaps read our two posts of May 17 before your next post. While opposing opinions are welcomed, it would be more constructive if further comments contribute something new.

I suppose your one new item is an impending shortage of electricity in Toronto, which I expect was a news story about a long-term, regional systemic issue (that I am sure will ultimately be solved, even if there is a cost and much handwringing involved) and nothing to do with this site.
 
Listening to the news this morning, I heard that Ontario, especially Toronto is going to experience shortage of electricity - this is not good news. So why are we building high towers of condos in an area as Bloor West Village where the infrastructure is very old and cannot handle the voltage!! A lower tower is much suitable (6 Story) not a 12 story - are you crazy!! It is enough that Bijou is going to be a pillar and their construction is experiencing issues as well as issues on Old Mill Road. Engineers did not plan it well. Also, for business this side of the street both north and south does not attract people for business so that will be a waste of space. Everyone heads East on Bloor and OMG the traffic with now single lanes and bikes --
Good Luck - remember Bijou was to be completed now so maybe the developers should speak with them before they start to see what issues they may experience especially water!!

Please stop with these types of alarmist, non-sensical ramblings. You're saying almost all the same things you said in your previous post except now an energy shortage?
12 storeys is absolutely not crazy for this location, and precedent has already been set directly across the street with both Bijou and Old Mill. And just down Bloor we've got 14 storeys at Bloor & Pacific, 11 storeys at Bloor & Clendenan, 12 storeys under construction at Bloor & Indian....so how about we stop talking like Bloor West Village is some farmer's field and the crops will all die if something larger than the medical centre a couple doors away gets built.
I live just a few hundred metres south of this site and I say bring it on, and bring on more all around Bloor West Village. Still far too many 1 & 2 storey buildings on Bloor, with detached family homes and surface parking lots directly behind them. That is not how you build a vibrant area, especially when we are directly on the subway line.
Bijou will have a quite a large retail component, and this development will have a fair amount as well. I don't understand how that is not a net positive in your eyes. More retail amenities are always welcome in a neighbourhood that wants to call itself a "village". Not to mention, every retail space west of Jane is currently leased so I don't see the logic in doing away with that in a new development.
So enough already. This isn't the Nextdoor app.
 
Looks like this will be another Leader Lane + Windmill Developments collaboration as WD have an undetailed mention of this on their website. The pair appear to be rapidly increasing their Toronto portfolio.



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It seems this site is no longer listed on Windmill's website, which is odd since the development team stated months ago at the community meeting that they planned to submit a development application to the city imminently.
 

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