Toronto 83 - 95 Bloor West | 272.44m | 79s | Parallax | IBI Group

[Northern Light]

Today, we learn from the lobbyist registry that the above assembly is in play.

This is pretty much the entire low-rise portion of Bloor, south side, from just west of Bay to St. Thomas.

Aerial Pic:

Streetview:

Site size: ~ 1637m2/17600ft2

Heritage Status: 1 property listed, (not designated) at 95A, the corner lot.

Though, I confess, I'm unclear on why..........

Details for Subject Matter Registration: SM32612​

Decision(s) or issue(s) to be lobbied

Rezoning and Site Plan applications for a proposal at 83 - 95A Bloor Street West, Toronto

 

[fiendishlibrarian]

Had a feeling this block was going to come into play at some point, as they seem to have allowed a number of the leases to lapse.

 

[concrete_and_light]

Interesting. I'm not particularly bothered by losing any of those buildings, but having some fine-grain streetscape here is nice especially with a lot of the surrounding area being big monolithic and sterile buildings that don't interact with the street level that well. So hopefully we can see some fine-grain and human-scale streetfront here, but otherwise I think this makes lots of sense as a site. I'm not sure what the shadowing constraints would be etc. (maybe some impacts on UofT) but seems like they might go for something quite tall here.

 

[egotrippin]

Interesting. I'm not particularly bothered by losing any of those buildings, but having some fine-grain streetscape here is nice especially with a lot of the surrounding area being big monolithic and sterile buildings that don't interact with the street level that well. So hopefully we can see some fine-grain and human-scale streetfront here, but otherwise I think this makes lots of sense as a site. I'm not sure what the shadowing constraints would be etc. (maybe some impacts on UofT) but seems like they might go for something quite tall here.

I agree, this seems to be the biggest failure of most new developments as you're often greeted at street level with a sterile, unbroken wall of glass. I'd love to see more developments built like Mirvish, where the form is broken into what appears to be a series of narrower buildings, providing interest not only at street level but on the skyline as well.

Granted, that is a much more sprawling site than this one, but there's still room to create more interesting forms and street level articulation.

 

[Khaloody]

praying for something sexy that suits our mink mile 🙏

 

[cd concept]

Looks like a skyscraper or maybe a supertall on this parcel of land lol!

 

[xy3]

Fingers crossed it will be something like a RAMSA design.

 

[saynotofaux]

I'm here for this. However if it's Parallax then it's likely another IBI special, no?

 

[junctionist]

I agree, this seems to be the biggest failure of most new developments as you're often greeted at street level with a sterile, unbroken wall of glass. I'd love to see more developments built like Mirvish, where the form is broken into what appears to be a series of narrower buildings, providing interest not only at street level but on the skyline as well.

Granted, that is a much more sprawling site than this one, but there's still room to create more interesting forms and street level articulation.

I agree. The problem of new developments meeting the street with a sterile wall of glass is becoming apparent on Yonge Street between Dundas and Bloor, where you see it multiple times in a small area that was once almost fully comprised of narrow storefronts.

 

[AlbertC]

This block is pretty prime real estate, as far as the Bloor Yorkville retail strip goes. I'm curious if Parallax is going in on this alone or partnering up with other developers. Fwiw, when looking up 85 Bloor St W, it still shows up as a property among RioCan's portfolio:

RioCan REIT - Real Estate Investment Trust Company

RioCan is one of Canada's largest Real Estate Investment Trust. It owns, manages and develops retail-focused, increasingly mixed-use properties in Can

riocan.com

 

[Northern Light]

This block is pretty prime real estate, as far as the Bloor Yorkville retail strip goes. I'm curious if Parallax is going in on this alone or partnering up with other developers. Fwiw, when looking up 85 Bloor St W, it still shows up as a property among RioCan's portfolio:

RioCan REIT - Real Estate Investment Trust Company

RioCan is one of Canada's largest Real Estate Investment Trust. It owns, manages and develops retail-focused, increasingly mixed-use properties in Can

riocan.com

Does this Albert character pay attention, or what?

From the Lobbyist Registry, this morning.

Details for Subject Matter Registration: SM32613​

Business/Organization name

RioCan Real estate Investment Trust

Decision(s) or issue(s) to be lobbied

83-95 Bloor Street West redevelopment

 

[Amare]

Uh Oh RioCan. My optimism for this just took a big hit.

 

[AlbertC]

Apart from being a development partner, RioCan's involvement should mean they'll spearhead managing the retail component in the future. Similar to their inclusion in the Well. Which makes sense here, as these will remain as lucrative commercial addresses that are along Bloor. And I can't see RioCan letting them go, without staying on for their share of the pie.

 

[egotrippin]

I agree. The problem of new developments meeting the street with sterile wall of glass is becoming apparent on Yonge Street between Dundas and Bloor, where you see it multiple times in a small area that was once almost fully comprised of narrow storefronts.

Yep, exactly. The only developments that seem to buck this trend are the ones that preserve the old row of buildings as their street presence. If it ain't broke...

 

[Northern Light]

As promised..........application to the AIC for Zoning and SPA for a 79 storey tower!

Development Applications

City Planning COA Application Information Center

app.toronto.ca

Link for Zoning App:

Development Applications

City Planning COA Application Information Center

app.toronto.ca