After four community workshops and some community consultation meetings, the developers of a 35-storey mixed use building proposed for the northwest corner of Bloor and Spadina are confident they have addressed most community concerns.
“I think we’ve really worked hard to understand some of the community input and the issues that were identified. We put forward a development application that speaks to that with those development principles,” said Project Manager Peter Venetas.
The development team – consisting of five different companies – plans to tear down and redevelop the existing buildings at this location.
In a consultation meeting in January of 2020, community members expressed concerns about protecting the view of the Knox College [now the Faculty of Architecture] corridor, shadow impacts, and social housing. In a recent community meeting, the developers addressed all of these concerns and displayed renderings and plans of the proposed building. One rendering was of [the former] Knox College and the minimized impact of the new proposal.
“The idea was to keep the buildings north of College and Spadina below the view corridor of [the former] Knox College when viewed from the northeast and the northwest corners of College and Spadina,” said Senior City Planner Barry Brooks during the meeting. “There is no projection above those at the moment of the proposed building, because the applicant was aware that that was something which should not be breached.”
The development team also displayed shadow impact renderings of the site displaying how far the shadow would go each month and each hour.
“It’s a very fast moving shadow, not staying in a particular building or area for more than an hour. It is a tall building, and will have some shadow, but I would say the impacts are minimal,” said Mansoor Kazerouni, an architect with the IBI group.
The site currently has a few rental residential units. According to Mike Dror, an Associate of Bousfields Inc., current residents at the site have the right to return to the new building to a unit of similar type, size, and rent. Current residents will also be notified four months in advance to vacate the unit, and will receive a compensation package.
Within their proposed 35-storey mixed use building there will be 380 residential units and 24 rental replacement units. No affordable housing units have been announced.