UtakataNoAnnex
Senior Member
...yeah, I preferred the original red over that proposed blue anyday. >.<
Toronto 611 Keele | 115.35m | 33s | Diamond Corp | a—A
- Thread starter Marcanadian
- Start date
EnviroTO
Senior Member
Did they already start construction on this site or is the fact that there is a new area plan that allows mixed use on this site too late to prevent this eyesore and underutilization of land?
AlbertC
Superstar
I don't have any insight on whether there's a chance they'll sell the site and something else may be planned, but as of now construction hasn't begun yet. It's been sitting idle for over a year now.
The proponent for this horrific piece of shit sought 5 zoning variances through the Committee of Adjustment for this to be allowed, and on May 25, 2021, the CoA refused the variances. The proponent subsequently appealed on June 14 to the Toronto Local Appeal Body. No hearing date has yet been scheduled, so there's a chance that time and the new area plan will convince the landowners to rethink this stupidity and plan for something more urban friendly…
…but when one proposes such a stupid lump for a major intersection (where there'll soon be a major transit station nearby), how smart can one be in the first place? So I'm not that confident the proponents here will figure this out, but I'm glad they have to wait in the meantime.
42
contributor
New Member
Tonight, March 3, 2022 6pm-8pm register at this link for City of Toronto Virtual Community Consultation to raise your concerns:
www.toronto.ca
View attachment 382947
Keele-St. Clair Local Area Study
A Statutory Public Open House for the Keele-St. Clair Local Area Study will be held on Thursday, March 3, 2022 from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Register City staff conducted the Keele-St. Clair Local Area Study as part of the Growth Plan (2019) conformity exercise in response to the planned GO/Smart...
www.toronto.ca
ProjectEnd
Superstar
DiamondCorp...
Northern Light
Superstar
The answer to this question/statement, can be found below. But first, the application:
Application Details
app.toronto.ca
Properties are 611-623 Keele, inclusive.
Developer is Diamond
Height is 31s
Architect is aA
And............. Docs are Up:
Note for those curious as to the shape of the building, this assembly excludes the St. Clair fronting properties:
To Appease the City on Employment, there are 2 floors of office space here.
Block Context Plan:
*****
My comments: Yuck! Wow, everything you ever liked about aA is not here; everything you ever hated about aA is here in spades.
Is this give me back the self-storage facility proposal bad? uhhhhh, not quite? But it sure ain't good.
Personally subjective, but to me this is completely the wrong design language for the area. I want to see something that plays with the industrial heritage of the area; albeit from a contemporary point of view.
This, to me, is a suburban big box condo plunked into an urban form; with as much colour as possible sucked out.
Just in case I'm being unclear........ i don't like it.
From the Planning Report:
I'll agree to distinct..............
I'll agree to conventional podium-tower
Bonus: Zero affordable housing proposed, as this will qualify for the transition period under the IZ by-law.
Last edited:
Well, that is a huge step up from the plan for a storage unit building here, phew, thank you Diamond Corp! And I like the stacked boxes articulation of the a—A proposal just fine… but the blank glass wall along the street frontage is rude as anything, with a—A continuing to defy all attempts to get them to examine their ongoing ineptitude in the ground realm department. Anyway, very glad to see this overall!
42
42
sebajun
New Member
I think this looks great. Unique design, much better than most being proposed in this area. Significantly better than a storage unit.
Towered
Superstar
I knew something had to give - a self-storage bunker never made sense at this intersection...
Is Peter Clewes even still actively designing, or has he delegated those aspects to the interns at aA?
Is Peter Clewes even still actively designing, or has he delegated those aspects to the interns at aA?
junctionist
Senior Member
It's definitely a relief to know that they're not proposing a self-storage building here anymore. However, the large, monolithic forms of the proposed building don't really fit the fascinating and unique fine-grained urbanism of the neighbourhood between Keele and the Metrolinx railway corridor, where Victorian and Edwardian houses neighbour small food businesses and car repair shops on tree-lined streets.
There's no transition or relationship with the two-storey building to the south. It's more of the kind of building I'd expect to fill space in the blank slate of the former Ontario Stockyards west of Keele (currently occupied by an uninspiring collection of big box retailers). I'm also not a fan of how the proposed building doesn't animate the St. Clair frontage. The underpass block of St. Clair between Keele and Old Weston Road is so barren.
Some storefronts, as opposed to generic green space, would help to enliven it. In the future, there will be significantly more pedestrian traffic there, too, as people walk to the SmartTrack/GO station. It would be a natural place for a coffee shop or restaurant.
There's no transition or relationship with the two-storey building to the south. It's more of the kind of building I'd expect to fill space in the blank slate of the former Ontario Stockyards west of Keele (currently occupied by an uninspiring collection of big box retailers). I'm also not a fan of how the proposed building doesn't animate the St. Clair frontage. The underpass block of St. Clair between Keele and Old Weston Road is so barren.
Some storefronts, as opposed to generic green space, would help to enliven it. In the future, there will be significantly more pedestrian traffic there, too, as people walk to the SmartTrack/GO station. It would be a natural place for a coffee shop or restaurant.
Northern Light
Superstar
I agree overall, but with one note; this building does not front St. Clair.
junctionist
Senior Member
Thanks for pointing that out. I hope that some imagination is used with regard to the neighbouring land parcels that aren't part of this development with frontage on St. Clair. There could be some cool buildings or public spaces there that would create a very unique built form.
3Dementia
Senior Member
My vote goes to "the interns are now running the asylum".... as almost everything new from aA is a copy + paste of something else (easy for the interns to do).
Haven't a clewe what happened to Peter but he's surely not steering the ship.
To the interns: "Check the shifting boxes file for ideas on 611 Keele".
Latest: https://cdn.skyrisecities.com/sites/default/files/images/projects/14791/14791-136159.jpeg
Earlier: https://cdn.skyrisecities.com/sites/default/files/images/projects/14791/14791-35783.jpeg