Toronto Five St Joseph | 160.93m | 48s | Five St. Joseph | Hariri Pontarini

I think that lane has to be left because it provides delivery access to the businesses on Yonge St. And if you look at the site plan that got posted a few posts back you can see that the lane beside Shred Central is still there. You can also see an arrow on the north side of the site pointing to where the parking access will be, which happens to line up to this laneway:

http://maps.google.com/maps?client=...oid=_BozDdEXeLPhIDaylvq_eA&cbp=12,175.56,,0,5

I think you're right. I looked at the site plan again and it seems this "laneway" which appears to be the parking access for this development, must be the one that will be eliminated.
 
I visited the site this morning.

There is a lane between Yonge and St. Nicholas that is accessed from St. Nicholas in two places (one access is next to Shred Central). It serves the businesses along Yonge St between St. Joseph and Wellesley. It seems that this is the lane that will be closed.

I really don't think they will close down St. Nicholas Street, which is a street anyway, not a lane!

OK, that makes sense now. I forgot about that lane east of 5 St. Joseph, I should have consulted with Google Maps. It doesn't stick out in my mind because I never thought of it as a lane-way but more than a parking nook hence my confusion over what the Staff Report was referencing.
 
I think you're right. I looked at the site plan again and it seems this "laneway" which appears to be the parking access for this development, must be the one that will be eliminated.

I walked by there today and I don't think that Council will approve the elimination of that "lane-way". First, it appears to serve as an emergency exit for the eastern part of either 5 St. Joseph (which will be deconstructed and then rebuilt) or neighbouring apartments in behind above the stores on Yonge, it's hard to tell. It also serves as a rear exit, delivery and garbage area to the cafe/pita place at the corner and Pizzaville directly south. Stores further south of the pizza joint are served in the rear by that creepy lane-way that I referenced above which is accessed via St. Nicholas Street, south of St. Joseph Street.
 
Last edited:
that creepy lane-way that I referenced above which is accessed via St. Nicholas Street, south of St. Joseph Street.

Indeed, it is creepy. Even at about 8:45 this morning (a time that I figured would be quiet) there were four youthful hoodlums awake and milling about, two of which were nursing half-full liter bottles of tanqueray (at least they drink well, I guess). Their halloween evening hadn't quite ended yet apparently.
 
Here's some pix of the alleys in question


north south
6061.jpg

east west
6062.jpg

east west
6063.jpg


St. Nick between Wellesley & St. Joe
6064.jpg



St. Nick between St. Joe & Irwin
6065.jpg
 
Here's some pix of the alleys in question


north south
6061.jpg

Ah yes, I haven't been back in there for probably 20 years, but that brings back memories! ;)

east west
6062.jpg

When i walk by here, I always think this would be better (and safer) if it were gated and locked at night.
 
Last edited:
^ A beautiful job they did too.

Except that the "beautiful job" still involved complete demolition other than the resurrected/recreated facade. So it doesn't address condovo's concerns; indeed, it may compound them...
 
^ Yes, maybe it's not perfect but it's an attractive addition to the neighbourhood and the alleys surrounding the building have been cleaned up, so overall I'd give it a thumbs up

stjoe.jpg
 
I recall that being an UT favourite when it was built. I still like it, and would be happy if 606 Yonge was half as kind to St. Joseph
 
I can't seem to find a website or any info in regards to Joyonge Development. Are they a new builder? or was the company created specifically for this project?
 
Joyonge is Diamondcorp.

They will likely be a partner in the development, or sell the site to another developer completely.
 
from insidetoronto.com....

DAVID NICKLE | Nov 11, 2009 - 2:09 PM |

Yonge condo gets go-ahead at community council

Tower will be set back from historical buildings on street

Plans to build a 45-storey tower on top of the historic Rawlinson Cartage Buildings at St. Joseph Street and Yonge Street got the go-ahead from the Toronto and East York Community Council this week.
The project, by Joyonge Developments Corporation, is an attempt to, as delicately as possible, insert the mixed-use commercial and residential tower on top of and set back from historic buildings on both St. Joseph and Yonge streets.

If council approves the plan at its November meeting, the developer will also improve lighting on St. Nicholas Street - now, essentially a laneway running from Wellesley to St. Joseph's Street - to make it more pedestrian friendly.

The proposal got mixed reaction from the community.

John Anderson, president of the Historic Yonge Street Small Business Association, came to praise it, citing the plan's sensitivity to the existing Yonge Street facades and the setbacks.

"We are worried that our neighbourhood will become a dense canyon filled with tall buildings that block out light, create wind tunnels, result in perpetual traffic jams and make it impossible for us to do business," he said. "What we're looking at here today I feel is a template for other possible developments on Yonge Street, where we can maintain the historic nature on Yonge Street and still accommodate the great need for intensification."

Residents, on the other hand, objected to what they regarded as yet another condominium tower entering into their neighbourhood.

Kathryn Holden pointed out the residents in the new condos would be virtually staring into the living rooms of existing condos.

"If you look at the tiny lane of St. Nicholas - the developer is using that as a buffer so as not to set back his tower. That means on the other side of the lane there's a tower of 22 storeys and those people are going to be looking across into each other's units."

Paul Farrelly said the development pushed boundaries of what's acceptable in the neighbourhood too far.

"And there's no compensation for the pile driving that will take place while these massive towers get built," he said. "There's no compensation, no regard at the community level - no engagement in any meaningful dialogue."

Steve Diamond, who spoke representing the developer, maintained the community had been well-consulted and the project was a good one.

"What you have before you is going to set a new standard in terms of heritage preservation," he said. "We've gone out of our way to not only do facade retention on these buildings, but they'll be fully restored."

Local Councillor Kyle Rae supported the application.

"I would say to the residents that you've really trapped yourself in this notion that it all has to happen on Bay Street," he said. "Intensification was on Bay Street why? Because it was a wasteland of parking lots in the '70s and '80s and as far as I'm concerned, that's not the best use of land in downtown Toronto. Bay Street has largely been built out and now it's Yonge Street. The real challenge is how do you preserve Yonge Street at the same time as you find developments to finance the preservation."

Community council supported the plan.
 

Back
Top