dt_toronto_geek
Superstar
This has set the precedent for huge development on every corner in this area. 355 will now be approved and same with the one on Jarvis.
What project on Jarvis? The 50-storey one across from Allan Gardens?
This has set the precedent for huge development on every corner in this area. 355 will now be approved and same with the one on Jarvis.
it just seems too bulky at 140 ft x 100 ft podium with 120 ft x 80 ft tower.
- but given its proximity to a lower density neighbourhood (which it cuts through) and the site specific OPA policies that require transition and consideration of character etc, it would have been more appropriate for something with less massing and more transition.
The downtown area is close to being maxed out, it can't support many more residents or office workers..
If the transit crisis is not addressed very soon with a plan and a means of financing it the downtown area is no longer going to be a desirable place to live. Btw, I'm not against this project, just sayin'.
Live close to transit that is already operating well beyond capacity with about another 40 buildings yet to be built within walking distance. The downtown area is close to being maxed out, it can't support many more residents or office workers. If the transit crisis is not addressed very soon with a plan and a means of financing it the downtown area is no longer going to be a desirable place to live. Btw, I'm not against this project, just sayin'.
The persistence of the belief that transit congestion is due to more people living downtown is baffling to me.
What's equally baffling to me is the assumption that everyone who lives downtown:
a) walks everywhere and never uses transit
b) works downtown/ goes to school downtown/ doesn't use transit to get to these places, whether it be subway or streetcars
and that
c) we can continue to cram thousands and thousands of more people downtown without needing to upgrade transit (and other types of) infrastructure.
It's a very elementary view of urban planning and issues of sustainability to suggest that more people living downtown doesn't affect transit/ contribute to transit congestion. Good urban planning is not as simple as "if everyone lived in a high density environment, we wouldn't have ________ problems." In Toronto, many many people live downtown and use transit, use transit to get to jobs outside of downtown, etc. etc.
Can't be further from the truth. Our downtown is still quite sparse and low rise compared with a lot of other big cities.
I don't know why transit crisis is related to how many people live downtown. I mean, downtown dwellers are least likely to take a Yonge subway at 8:30am, mostly definitely don't need toshow up at Yonge/Bloor. If more people move to downtown from somewhere else in the city, transit issue will only get better, won't it? You are talking as if downtown condos are attracting buyers from outside Toronto who otherwise won't take transit.
That's not necessarily true. Plenty of people live downtown and work elsewhere. Driving or taking transit against the rush hour flow used to be a breeze, not so much anymore.
Menkes appeals to the OMB and gets their building - http://www.xtra.ca/public/Toronto/Controversial_30storey_Church_Street_condo_gets_goahead-12718.aspx
A controversial 30-storey condo tower that was rejected by the city has won approval from the Ontario Municipal Board, which overruled the city’s decision in a judgment handed down Oct 12. The developer, Menkes, now has the go-ahead to build the 100-metre-tall building on land that is currently a parking lot on the east side of Church Street between McGill and Granby.
The decision could set a precedent to eliminate the city’s prohibition on tall buildings in the Church-Wellesley Village.
The OMB decision, delivered by Reid Rossi, rejects every single argument the city had put forward against the project. It also denies the city Section 37 community benefit funds that are typically negotiated from a developer in exchange for the city's allowing new buildings to exceed designated height and density maximums set out in the city’s official plan.