Toronto King East Centre | 140m | 39s | First Gulf | WZMH

I know I'm biased because I live right here, but this will vastly improve this block. Seems obvious a grocery store will be there long term, but would it be possible to keep a grocery store operating in there through construction of all of this?
 
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Event Information: 200-230 Front Street East and 311-351 King Street East - Community Consultation Meeting

Date and time:Thursday, June 10, 2021 6:30 pm
Eastern Daylight Time (Toronto, GMT-04:00)
Change time zone
Duration:2 hours
Description:
The City has received an application to amend the Zoning By-law to permit two new buildings on the block containing the Globe and Mail Centre (to be retained). On the west side of the block is a 37-storey residential building (140 metres tall). The existing Coca-Cola/George Brown building would remain in place. In the middle of the block is a 27-storey office building (119 metres tall). The footprint of the new office building would replace some of the existing retail uses fronting on Front Street East. The existing buildings fronting on King Street East would remain in place. A 1,200 square metre POPS space is proposed fronting onto Front Street East.

Please visit the Site's Application Information Centre website at Toronto.ca/333KingStE for more information.
 
This project has evolved again. The database file (linked at the top of the page) has been updated and we have a new front page story here about its recent presentation before the Design Review Panel.

Among other changes, the residential and office tower have grown taller by two storeys each.

160-133722.jpeg


That's white terra cotta framing on residential tower, which should be great(!) but can they pull off having those supertall window panes on floors 4-5, 6, and 7? (Planned as office space until the 8th floor where it becomes residential, two floors are hidden behind the lowest of the three double-height sections.)

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I’m confused about the changes. Are we losing the no frills? It appears that the retail slot they’re currently occupying is halved. That’s very disappointing for all those that live in the neighbourhood.
 
dusk said:
I’m confused about the changes. Are we losing the no frills? It appears that the retail slot they’re currently occupying is halved. That’s very disappointing for all those that live in the neighbourhood.
Click to expand...
There is much discussion of this question over the last 10 posts or so.
 
dusk said:
I’m confused about the changes. Are we losing the no frills? It appears that the retail slot they’re currently occupying is halved. That’s very disappointing for all those that live in the neighbourhood.
Click to expand...
It is staying and at about the same size. Read back several pages. Their loading docks will have to be moved
 
As a nearby resident, I am ok with this scheme, however I have 2.5 major concerns

1: the grocery store has to stay. period. no discussion.

2: the pops is too small - Front street between George and on to the DVP where it becomes Eastern is an absolute traffic gutter with narrow sidewalks and minimal landscaping compared to the amount of pedestrian traffic it receives. It's not uncommon for pedestrians to get stuck behind other folks in front of this complex as it is. If the city is going to allow this kind of density here, there needs to be a real commitment to making front street more inviting and safe for people on foot.

2.5: I feel like keeping the existing king street building here is kind of silly. The possibilities for a really nice development are severely limited by trying to accommodate the existing structure. The DRP is very right when bringing up the need for a mid block connection here, but how realistic is that if the old building needs to remain in tact? I'd much rather see the block be chopped to pieces with nice landscaping between buildings, instead of the mega podium we're getting now.
 
DSC said:
It is staying and at about the same size. Read back several pages. Their loading docks will have to be moved
Click to expand...
I feel kind of dense so maybe someone can help me out :)

If I look at the following two diagrams, I see that the no frills site has been cut in what appears to be 50% or greater. Is it moving to the retail slot on the right where the dollarama, lcbo currently are?

71786CA8-076B-4981-98F9-DE15FD4BE55A.png

2A0DC54B-DE43-443E-B7CD-7CE6EAADB1F8.png

The previous discussions don’t seem to address this specifically.

Thanks all!
 
Today's front page story has this to say about the retail:
(While significant amount of retail space is being provided in the new development—20,000 ft² facing King Street, 9,500 ft² facing the POPS, and 6,860 ft² of Back-of-House support space—those spaces are not as large as the current No Frills space, and it is unknown which retailers may return.)
Click to expand...
 
Up to now, every presentation I have heard/seen says No Frills will be there and I am not too worried that they may be pushed out. It's a busy store that serves a growing area. (Including me!!) I can see some 'tweaks' that will give them at least the square footage they have now.
 
DSC said:
Up to now, every presentation I have heard/seen says No Frills will be there and I am not too worried that they may be pushed out. It's a busy store that serves a growing area. (Including me!!) I can see some 'tweaks' that will give them at least the square footage they have now.
Click to expand...
Please let me know what those tweaks would be, as what's been left as retail of their current space as per the plans above is just ¼ of the area,

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Perhaps I am misunderstanding...........

But here's what I found, in the Planning Rationale Report:

1626834060697.png


Total Retail GFA actually rose:

1626834103623.png



The large retail unit (pink) on the right hand side of the top image is 20,000ft2. That almost certainly is purpose-built for grocery.

You can see the large unit here in the architectural drawings:

1626834199686.png


20,000ft2 is entirely workable.

The No Frills on Coxwell at Gerrard is 18,000

LBL also tried out a 10,000ft2 format known as "The Box' in preparation for a possible assualt on their market share by either Aldi or Lidl

They decided against it, for now.

****

Of course.....that's entirely speculation on my part..........
 
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This is where I fear the disconnect lay in our processes. Free market will dictate tenancy of commercial space- it’s not like govt legislates where grocery stores are after all- But govt IS having a hand at building more affordable housing in an area where affordable groceries will become scarce. Soooo… gonna have to check the square footage of the retail in the projects near Cherry & Mill. There’s already plans for a Marcellos grocery in Canary, but it doesn’t look that affordable, or big enough to service all the density.
 
Yup, looks like a grocery space to me.

what sucks is it’s a smaller space than currently - what makes the No Frills here nice today is that it is a fairly large, spacious store that doesn’t feel cramped and stuffed in there like many downtown grocery stores.

I mean it’s the ultimate first world problem, but this no frills is popular because it’s a very nice no frills so you can get the budget pricing without the depressing, cramped feeling of most no frills. The only other one in the downtown area that is similar in that way is Dundas and Landsdowne.
 
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