Toronto 411 Church | 121.91m | 38s | CentreCourt | IBI Group

I went to the community consultation scheduled for tonight at 7 pm. Reception from the community was not good. People were positive towards the design of the tower itself but most folks were quite critical of the project as presented. Its relationship with the context and identity of the neighbourhood was a major point of content; people felt that this tower did not represent an adequate development for the lot. It was overall considered too massive and inappropriate for this site, especially considering the school to the north.
 
The article is a bit misleading. Having attended the meeting on Tuesday night, I'd say the majority of those attending were against the project as currently proposed. Many brought up very valid issues like:
  • building height (8 storeys taller than the Stanley, even though it's not located along College Street)
  • shadow impacts (the impacts on the school yard would be quite a bit worse than the Stanley, which was an important part of the OMB settlement to bring it down to 37 storeys)
  • the scale of the podium (7 storeys that reads as an 8 storey podium, yet fronts onto Wood Street, which is much lower-rise in character)
  • seemingly lack of public benefit (no ground floor public space with the exception of a widened sidewalk)
I don't think the rationale for 45 storeys was made clear or was at all convincing. We heard the same response of "it's in the downtown and intensification needs to happen." This argument ignores the Church Street character, the adjacent context, and the need for new development to contribute more positively to city.
 
bigtony22127 said:
The article is a bit misleading. Having attended the meeting on Tuesday night, I'd say the majority of those attending were against the project as currently proposed. Many brought up very valid issues like:
  • building height (8 storeys taller than the Stanley, even though it's not located along College Street)
  • shadow impacts (the impacts on the school yard would be quite a bit worse than the Stanley, which was an important part of the OMB settlement to bring it down to 37 storeys)
  • the scale of the podium (7 storeys that reads as an 8 storey podium, yet fronts onto Wood Street, which is much lower-rise in character)
  • seemingly lack of public benefit (no ground floor public space with the exception of a widened sidewalk)
I don't think the rationale for 45 storeys was made clear or was at all convincing. We heard the same response of "it's in the downtown and intensification needs to happen." This argument ignores the Church Street character, the adjacent context, and the need for new development to contribute more positively to city.
Click to expand...

The article is titled "Local Opinion Divided on 45-Storey Condo Proposal at 411 Church," and it clearly lays out that many residents were against the current proposal, and sought a compromise. In terms of the people who supported the current proposal, the article states "a small number of commenters also supported the project wholeheartedly in its current 45-storey iteration" [emphasis added].
 
CentreCourt have applied to the OMB due to the City's failure to make a decision within 120 days. Hearing will be for 2 days commencing on August 22, 2016.

A number of revisions have been made to the proposal including a height reduction to 116m, podium shortened to line up with 70 Carlton, second floor retail eliminated, first floor retail redesigned for smaller uses, retail on the east side changed to townhomes / live-work units, a new pedestrian plaza on the north west corner, lobby relocated to Wood Street, and a reduction in provided parking.

OMB Case / File No. PL160145
 
So the Stanley's developer had to pay the school board to get more floors than the school and community wanted, a compromise worked out by the councilor, while this developer will get a much taller building that will block more light to the school than the Stanley, all because this developer just decided to bypass Go and appeal to the OMB.

I would hate to be a councilor given the real power lies with the unelected OMB.
 
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