Brampton 507 Balmoral Drive | ?m | 30s | Pulis Investments Group

[ShonTron]

Pulis Investment Group, which owns a 1960s 4-storey apartment building on the southwest corner of Balmoral Drive and Bramalea Road, is looking to demolish the existing 55-unit building, which sits on a very large lawn, and replace it with a 30-storey apartment building on the corner, and two 6-storey buildings on the south side, closer to single-family homes. There would be 552 residential units, so a 10x increase. These would be all one and two bedroom apartments.

The problem I see isn't the location or even the massing, it's that there are very few amenities within a short 5-10 minute walk, apart from the high school and two churches. No retail is planned. 15 minutes on foot would get you to elementary schools, and 20 minutes would get you to the south edge of Bramalea City Centre or Avondale Plaza.

Transit is at least good, being on the Bramalea Road corridor (15/115; likely future 515), with a short ride to Bramalea Terminal, the GO Station, and a direct run to the airport.

Only massing drawings right now; no architect yet.

Accela Citizen Access

 

[Northern Light]

Pulis Investment Group, which owns a 1960s 4-storey apartment building on the southwest corner of Balmoral Drive and Bramalea Road, is looking to demolish the existing 55-unit building, which sits on a very large lawn, and replace it with a 30-storey apartment building on the corner, and two 6-storey buildings on the south side, closer to single-family homes. There would be 552 residential units, so a 10x increase. These would be all one and two bedroom apartments.

The problem I see isn't the location or even the massing,

Hmm, not sure I agree on the massing. I hate all that car-centric private road business in the layout.

I think I'd prefer a U-Shaped, two-tower design concentrated at the north end of the site, with a proper private open-space (no road) inside the U.

A public Road would access the site behind the U, and the surplus to the south could be either of - an additional midrise with off-site parkland dedication, or a new public park.

I also think the tower (s) along Balmoral at Bramalea needs a bit of a setback after the 3rd storey or so. Too imposing a street wall as proposed.

it's that there are very few amenities within a short 5-10 minute walk, apart from the high school and two churches. No retail is planned. 15 minutes on foot would get you to elementary schools, and 20 minutes would get you to the south edge of Bramalea City Centre or Avondale Plaza.

I concur that adding retail along Bramalea would make sense.

Though, I don't think it's entirely dire..

It's just over 1km to the Rabba, which I would consider 15M walk, 1.33km to Nia's Supermarket 18m walk and 1.5km to Metro (Bramalea City Centre) which I would peg as a 23m walk.

Transit is at least good, being on the Bramalea Road corridor (15/115; likely future 515), with a short ride to Bramalea Terminal, the GO Station, and a direct run to the airport.

Only massing drawings right now; no architect yet.

Accela Citizen Access

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[ShonTron]

Yeah. The developer is also proposing a parking spot for each unit, so it’s not especially transit-oriented.

Elsewhere, the Main & Steeles and especially the Downtown-Queen Corridor, provision of parking spots are much more limited in development applications.

 

[Paclo]

Additional massing perspectives from the Massing Plan:

 

[Wm Perkins Bull]

Yeah. The developer is also proposing a parking spot for each unit, so it’s not especially transit-oriented.

Elsewhere, the Main & Steeles and especially the Downtown-Queen Corridor, provision of parking spots are much more limited in development applications.

The developer has proposed one parking spot per unit, because that is what the government has legislated for the parking requirement for that area. The downtown-Queen Corridor, and Highway 10 & Steeles projects propose so much less parking because the municipal government doesn't set a minimum parking requirement for residential development in those areas, and the market doesn't need that many parking spots there.

 

[Rentersofgta]

Pulis Investment Group, which owns a 1960s 4-storey apartment building on the southwest corner of Balmoral Drive and Bramalea Road, is looking to demolish the existing 55-unit building, which sits on a very large lawn, and replace it with a 30-storey apartment building on the corner, and two 6-storey buildings on the south side, closer to single-family homes. There would be 552 residential units, so a 10x increase. These would be all one and two bedroom apartments.

The problem I see isn't the location or even the massing, it's that there are very few amenities within a short 5-10 minute walk, apart from the high school and two churches. No retail is planned. 15 minutes on foot would get you to elementary schools, and 20 minutes would get you to the south edge of Bramalea City Centre or Avondale Plaza.

Transit is at least good, being on the Bramalea Road corridor (15/115; likely future 515), with a short ride to Bramalea Terminal, the GO Station, and a direct run to the airport.

Only massing drawings right now; no architect yet.

Accela Citizen Access

View attachment 433766

View attachment 433765

I have been to this property many times and I have to say I do not see the dimensions working out in their favour as the property is quite slim even with the extra room it has now. This residents is situated in a residential/manufacturing area of Brampton.

This construction would affect the high school across from the property, the residential homes surrounding the area as well as the fire station right beside it. I do recommend shrinking the size of this potential development as well as possibly looking for another more appropriate piece of property to do this.

The traffic at this intersection is already quite terrible with it connecting to Steeles along with it being hard to come and leave off of this intersection. So proposing to make more residency on this piece of property will greatly affect the already existing traffic within this area. With how large the proposed construction is, I could only imagine they would need to reconstruct the road to accommodate the traffic and rise of population. Not very ideal honestly.

I must also mention the towering buildings would most likely be an eyesore, comparing how short everything else around it would be. Have any of the current residents surrounding the area been contacted? Specifically the fire station, and the possible affects and delays this construction will cause to their property and accessibility to respond to fire emergencies?

 

[rdaner]

^This type of development is driven by market forces and if they are impeded it creates imbalances.

 

[Rentersofgta]

I have been to this property many times and I have to say I do not see the dimensions working out in their favour as the property is quite slim even with the extra room it has now. This residents is situated in a residential/manufacturing area of Brampton.

This construction would affect the high school across from the property, the residential homes surrounding the area as well as the fire station right beside it. I do recommend shrinking the size of this potential development as well as possibly looking for another more appropriate piece of property to do this.

I must also mention the towering buildings would most likely be an eyesore, comparing how short everything else around it would be.

^This type of development is driven by market forces and if they are impeded it creates imbalances.

That I understand however, this piece of property with the existing infrastructure and residency around the area, is not ideal for this type of project. Brampton has other properties that are ready for this type of development. This would be causing an imbalance within the community, current residents, surrounding businesses, current roads/traffic, and commuters. I also have to add that this type of construction is gentrifying the area. There’s other aspects to this that are not taken into consideration.