Toronto 5051-5061 Yonge | 130.9m | 39s | Sevoy Developments | Kirkor Architects

[Northern Light]

Preliminary Report on this one to the next NYCC meeting on March 1st, 2021

Report here: https://www.toronto.ca/legdocs/mmis/2021/ny/bgrd/backgroundfile-164042.pdf

From the Report:

 

[taal]

Any updates on this at all, post the March meeting ?

 

[LemonCondo]

North York mini PATH is growing...

 

[artyboy123]

New renderings are updated it. The overall building storey count changed from 42 storeys to 39 storeys. The building height changed from 140.20m to 130.90m. Total unit cunt changed from 350 units to 365 units. Finally, the total parking space count was reduced from 273 parking to 196 parking.

Renderings are taken from the architectural plan via Rezoning submission:

 

[Northern Light]

Changes as described in the Cover Letter:

Observations: (by me) :

Parking decline is good.

Podium has been modified in several ways, it's now being described as 5 storey instead of six, which I get, though the transition to the tower could read as set-back podium........
Be that as it may, the street wall is down one floor.

The aesthetic has been changed..........nothing really lost from the last iteration.......but not much gained either.
Brick now shows up on the podium, but its value is much diminished by not extending it down to grade, where we once again have the all-glass retail wall. Pfft!
The tower design is at least simplified somewhat; but the podium, as noted above is just such an odd jumble; and it manages that without extending any kind of granularity to grade.

We're getting an entirely useless POPs for no obvious reason I can discern except to check a box off.

The POPs is one storefront wide basically. I know......maybe we could put ummm, a store there!

How about we instead buy 1 or 2 houses next to the parkland just to the east of the Ring Road and add them to the park there? The trail weaves between homes in a way that isn't very satisfying, and must seem a bit intrusive to the adjacent owners:

The light colour is Parks-owned trail.

 

[ProjectEnd]

City asked for the POPS, First Cap complied. I'd say that the loss of *111k* sf of office here is far more problematic. "post-COVID market trends" is a hand-waiving way of saying 'it won't make us as much money'. I'd argue the City should push back on that and allow them some extra res density on top.

 

[Northern Light]

City asked for the POPS, First Cap complied.

The City asks for lots of stupid things, sometimes, they should be told 'No'.

I actually think they would agree, if it were explained to them why it's a bad idea.

The problem here is Planning 'box checking' instead of looking at the actual site and whether it made any sense at all.

I'd say that the loss of *111k* sf of office here is far more problematic. "post-COVID market trends" is a hand-waiving way of saying 'it won't make us as much money'. I'd argue the City should push back on that and allow them some extra res density on top.

Agreed.

 

[ProjectEnd]

But the North York Centre Secondary Plan (NYCSP) is *precisely* 'check box planning'. When folks comply, and they have a good manager, it's relatively easy to rezone and get SPA. Azura did it in 14 months IIRC. That's unheard of in Toronto, except where the requirements are prescribed. Here First Cap are deviating from the Plan: the NYCSP prescribes office, but they 'don't wanna', so they're trying to foist this on us. If they hold fast, they'll go to the Board, but even there, the future isn't guaranteed since the SP is clear about requirements. That said the City has lost on office so it's a toss up and will depend entirely on which member hears the case.

 

[Northern Light]

But the North York Centre Secondary Plan (NYCSP) is *precisely* 'check box planning'. When folks comply, and they have a good manager, it's relatively easy to rezone and get SPA. Azura did it in 14 months IIRC. That's unheard of in Toronto, except where the requirements are prescribed. Here First Cap are deviating from the Plan: the NYCSP prescribes office, but they 'don't wanna', so they're trying to foist this on us. If they hold fast, they'll go to the Board, but even there, the future isn't guaranteed since the SP is clear about requirements. That said the City has lost on office so it's a toss up and will depend entirely on which member hears the case.

We're not disagreeing, really.

There are lots of problems around check box planning in Toronto.

They aren't all the fault of the City, it should be said; the problems with precedent and OLT appeals makes something of a hash of using one's intelligent discretion.

That can still work, even w/the OLT, but aside from the matter of the variability of who hears a case, some planners are better able to make the case for their own judgement than others, and that can be an issue even when the judgement is sound.

Likewise, the City can be both very prescriptive on paper; but perhaps even moreso in practice, making 'guidelines' and 'policy goals' mandatory, even when they don't make sense for a particular project or site.

That, of course, comes back to the hassle of appeals and precedents as well as a department with exceedingly high turnover.

 

[innsertnamehere]

But the North York Centre Secondary Plan (NYCSP) is *precisely* 'check box planning'. When folks comply, and they have a good manager, it's relatively easy to rezone and get SPA. Azura did it in 14 months IIRC. That's unheard of in Toronto, except where the requirements are prescribed. Here First Cap are deviating from the Plan: the NYCSP prescribes office, but they 'don't wanna', so they're trying to foist this on us. If they hold fast, they'll go to the Board, but even there, the future isn't guaranteed since the SP is clear about requirements. That said the City has lost on office so it's a toss up and will depend entirely on which member hears the case.

1406 Yonge is the fastest zoning approval I can recall in recent memory - 11 months. No idea how they swung that one, especially since it was quite an aggressive application.

 

[ProjectEnd]

I saw in someone else's app that that one was approved and I thought it was a mistake. It was *insanely* quick.

 

[innsertnamehere]

I saw in someone else's app that that one was approved and I thought it was a mistake. It was *insanely* quick.

I suspect the impending end of Section 37 had a lot to do with it by lighting a fire under the City's proverbial.... rear end, but even with that, when that application was made I fully expected it to go to the OLT due to the insane density and minimal setbacks.

 

[Patrick Freeman]

They did well to move this along so fast, and the changes make sense.

 

[ProjectEnd]

They did well to move this along so fast, and the changes make sense.

They absolutely do not.

 

[sunnyraytoronto]

City asked for the POPS, First Cap complied. I'd say that the loss of *111k* sf of office here is far more problematic. "post-COVID market trends" is a hand-waiving way of saying 'it won't make us as much money'. I'd argue the City should push back on that and allow them some extra res density on top.

During the Pandemic the membership (all office and retail businesses) of Willowdale BIA (Yonge Corridor between Beecroft and Doris from 401 to Hendon/Bishop) dropped from 1,800 to 1,600,... that 200 drop was from Office count,... while generally as soon as any retailers closed another retailer open up,.... lots of demand for new Bubble Tea Shops!

The lost of about 111,000sqft of Office is stupid,...adding another 50,000sqft of Office would get them over the 15,000sqm threshold to trigger a loop-hole in the North York Centre Secondary Plan which would deliver about $5million of their Section37 Community Benefit money back to them to subsidize their Subway Connection,... Here, I'm assuming 15,000sqm doesn't has to be Office space per say and Hotel would qualify,... since both would be considered Commercial as done when the approved Centrust Centrium 11-storey Hotel was converted to Offices Space for G-Group's Ellie Condo in order to use the same approvals. https://urbantoronto.ca/forum/threa...kes-arquitectonica.17877/page-15#post-1429912

This Direct Subway Connection is something City Planning wants done as per their Preliminary Report,... and assuming this new Subway Entrance would be at southeast corner of Yonge and Hillcrest (since there's currently a large subway vent in the middle of Hillcrest Ave at Yonge) then it would make more sense for the POPS to be at this corner as well! Yes, I know then tower would shift south and worry about the 25m clearance between towers for any future development south of this site,.. but that's somebody else's problem!

5051-5061 Yonge | 130.9m | 39s | First Capital | Kirkor Architects

Preliminary Report on this one to the next NYCC meeting on March 1st, 2021 Report here: https://www.toronto.ca/legdocs/mmis/2021/ny/bgrd/backgroundfile-164042.pdf From the Report:

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