Toronto 31R Parliament Street | 165.8m | 49s | Cityscape | SHoP

There's no surprise that this report asks City Council to send representation to the OMB to oppose this application which the Planning Department regards as over-development of the site.

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July City Council followed that up with a vote to go to the OMB and to continue in the meantime in discussions with the proponents to address the issues the Planning Department has with it.

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Agreement reached.

http://app.toronto.ca/tmmis/viewAgendaItemHistory.do?item=2017.CC27.2

2. City Council authorize the City Solicitor to advise the Ontario Municipal Board that City Council supports a settlement in principle of the Official Plan Amendment and rezoning appeal related to 31R Parliament Street, 370 and 370R Cherry Street substantially in accordance with the following principles:



a. 31R Parliament Street, 370 and 370R Cherry Street shall be developed generally in accordance with the drawings by KPMB dated March 28, 2017, subject to revisions as required in relation to these resolutions;



b. the development will consist of: a tower with a maximum height of 165.7 metres (including mechanical penthouse); a maximum tower floorplate of 910 square metres and a podium extending eastward toward Cherry Street (referred to as the Ribbon Building) with a maximum height of 23.7 metres and a maximum gross floor area of 67,400 square metres;



c. office, hotel, retail and residential uses shall be permitted. If a hotel is constructed in the podium of the tower at 31R Parliament Street, the ceiling heights in the podium above the ground floor may be reduced in order to permit an additional floor and an interior courtyard in the podium; however, the massing, gross floor area and height of both the base building and the tower may not increase;



d. the zoning by-law shall require amenity space (both indoor and outdoor) in an amount based on the number of dwelling units for the development, close to conforming to the requirements of the zoning by-law to the satisfaction of the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning;



e. a café/retail component may be permitted within the open space area bordered by Rack House G, Rack House J, Cherry Street and the Ribbon Building, subject to the owner’s landscape architect submitting landscaping plans for review by the City's Design Review Panel and subject to the approval of the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning, with such plans incorporating a Wheel Trans transportation analysis, open space areas for sitting, potential public art, and demonstrating an appropriate size and configuration of the café/retail space;



f. with respect to the area within the development contemplated to be adjacent to and to facilitate future installation by the City of a pedestrian walkway under the rail corridor to the south, the Section 37 Agreement shall reflect the requirement that the view from within the subject lands south to the entrance of the pedestrian underpass from the north side of Trinity Square shall not be obstructed by permanent structures to the satisfaction of the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning;



g. the owner will construct the underground garage beneath the Ribbon Building and any required crash wall for the Ribbon Building in conjunction with the garage and crash wall for the tower proposed at 31R Parliament Street. The design and materiality of the crash wall facing north shall be subject to approval by the Director, Community Planning, Toronto and East York District during the site plan application process. In addition, the owner will use commercially reasonable efforts to lease and finance the Ribbon Building such that it can be constructed in conjunction with the tower proposed at 31R Parliament Street. If the owner can achieve a 60 percent leasing threshold and secure financing, the owner agrees to construct the Ribbon Building in conjunction with the tower proposed at 31R Parliament Street;



h. prior to the issuance by the Ontario Municipal Board of its final Order, the owner shall prepare a Transportation Impact Report Addendum, including updated traffic surveys from 2016, vehicular parking justification, and loading requirements to the satisfaction of the General Manager, Transportation Services. The number of vehicular parking spaces may deviate from the standards of Zoning By-law 569-2013, provided a justification is made in the revised Transportation Impact Study, all subject to the acceptance of the General Manager, Transportation Services;



i. the zoning by-law shall require bicycle parking ratios that conforms to Zoning By-law 569-2013;



j. the Section 37 Agreement will reference the requirement that, as part of its site plan application, the owner shall prepare a revised Pedestrian Wind Impact Study to be submitted and reviewed to the satisfaction of the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning, with any recommended mitigation measures to be implemented through the site plan approval process;



k. the Ontario Municipal Board’s final Order shall be withheld until comments from Metrolinx are provided to the satisfaction of the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning in respect of the environmental impacts of the adjacent rail corridor upon the development and fulfillment of Metrolinx’s standard requirements, which may include requirements with respect to the proposed crash wall; and



l. the Ontario Municipal Board's final Order shall be withheld until Official Plan Amendment 394 is approved by the Province, or alternatively have the Province confirm that it has no objections to the proposal, or such alternative arrangements as may be acceptable to the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning.
 
Agreement reached.

http://app.toronto.ca/tmmis/viewAgendaItemHistory.do?item=2017.CC27.2
g. the owner will construct the underground garage beneath the Ribbon Building and any required crash wall for the Ribbon Building in conjunction with the garage and crash wall for the tower proposed at 31R Parliament Street. The design and materiality of the crash wall facing north shall be subject to approval by the Director, Community Planning, Toronto and East York District during the site plan application process. In addition, the owner will use commercially reasonable efforts to lease and finance the Ribbon Building such that it can be constructed in conjunction with the tower proposed at 31R Parliament Street. If the owner can achieve a 60 percent leasing threshold and secure financing, the owner agrees to construct the Ribbon Building in conjunction with the tower proposed at 31R Parliament Street

This part alone is great news!

AoD
 
Some neat section 37 goodies in there, too:

i. the owner shall provide a contribution of $3.2 million dollars, indexed upwardly in accordance with the Statistics Canada Non-residential Construction Price Index for Toronto, calculated from the date of the final Order of the Ontario Municipal Board order and payable upon the issuance of the first above-grade building permit, to be directed to the following:

1. $1,066,667 to be used by the City in its sole discretion with respect to improvements of the First Parliament site;

2. $1,066,666 to be provided, under the supervision of the City with respect to improvements to the Toronto Aboriginal Hub in the West Don Lands;

3. $1,066,666 to be contributed towards streetscaping and open space improvements, of which $533,333 shall be spent on streetscaping and open space improvements within the Distillery District; and $533,333 shall be spent on streetscaping and open space improvements at the intersection of Trinity Street and Mill Street and on the streets along the perimeter of the Distillery District.

4. $200,000 is established as a minimum expense to be paid by the owner for the heritage interpretation area to be installed within Rack House “D”. The owner shall, at the time of issuance of its first above-grade building permit, provide a letter of credit with respect to the value of such proposed works. In the event that the expense of the heritage interpretation area is less than $200,000 the owner shall spend the remaining funds on capital improvements as directed by the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning within the publically accessible areas of the Distillery District, having regard to its role as a public cultural heritage and tourism destination; and

5. a contribution of $850,000 towards the commissioning of public art, including a public art proposal to be approved by the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning where a portion of the contribution may be directed towards the relocation of "Still Dancing" by Dennis Oppenheim to a publicly accessible space.

d. matters are to be secured in the Section 37 Agreement as legal convenience to support the developments include the following:

i. the owner shall provide 10 percent of the total number of dwelling units as 3-bedroom dwelling units or larger, or their equivalents;

iv. the fourth and fifth storeys of the Ribbon Building shall be constructed in a different exterior material than the first three storeys, to be determined through the site plan approval process; and
 
Since the document mentions the First Parliament site, why are we not taking this site more seriously? People on this forum get upset when some silly old house gets demolished, but the site of our first parliament buildings is an afterthought. It's arguably the single most important heritage site in the city. Since the original buildings are gone, why not make it a pubic square that respects its historical significance? I don't think we should build here.
 
because there isn't any active heritage element on the site. Its an old car dealership.

The city also owns the property and does not intend for it to be developed.
 
Since the document mentions the First Parliament site, why are we not taking this site more seriously? People on this forum get upset when some silly old house gets demolished, but the site of our first parliament buildings is an afterthought. It's arguably the single most important heritage site in the city. Since the original buildings are gone, why not make it a pubic square that respects its historical significance? I don't think we should build here.
The City has plans, or at least is developing plans, for the First Parliament site. First, it is now all in public hands (the City owns most of it, the Ontario Heritage Trust owns the ex-car dealer building corner. In last few years the City has carried out archaeological investigations and environmental assessments (it's VERY polluted as a gas works was there for many years). This year they have $$ to prepare a Master Plan and the Public Library are planning to build a District Library on part of the site. The problem is that one needs to put buildings on the most polluted parts as the pollution can thus be capped and to keep the less polluted areas for parkland while still trying to have the 'development' reflect the great history of the site. (Parliament, Gaol , Gas Works) Having a million more in s 37 $$ will clearly help to move this on a bit faster
 
because there isn't any active heritage element on the site.

But wouldn't it do the site more justice to avoid building anything? Just a nice square or park? It just amazes me that so few people care about the site and see it as a place to build a library or something. We have other lots for that kind of thing.
 
But wouldn't it do the site more justice to avoid building anything? Just a nice square or park? It just amazes me that so few people care about the site and see it as a place to build a library or something. We have other lots for that kind of thing.

I am not sure how much justice can be exacted from foundations in a square - in any case, what better way to return the site to active civic use by an institution with a responsibility for perpetuating knowledge?

AoD
 
in any case, what better way to return the site to active civic use by an institution with a responsibility for perpetuating knowledge?

AoD

That's a fair point. I guess I'm just surprised that this site isn't more revered. Based on its history, it clearly never was.
 
Since the document mentions the First Parliament site, why are we not taking this site more seriously? People on this forum get upset when some silly old house gets demolished, but the site of our first parliament buildings is an afterthought. It's arguably the single most important heritage site in the city. Since the original buildings are gone, why not make it a pubic square that respects its historical significance? I don't think we should build here.

Read up on it here. http://tvo.org/transcript/2154115/v...e-paikin/rollo-myers-torontos-hidden-heritage
 

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