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Northern Light

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This new Application to the AIC comes from the distant wilds of the south-west end, an area some UT'ers refer to as @Amare - land

It proposes to redevelop 3 modest 2-storey commercial storefront buildings on Lake Shore Blvd West into an 11-storey building.

The addresses involved at 3807-3815 Lake Shore Blvd West. This is just west of Fourtieth Street and just south-east of Long Branch GO.

Site as is:

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The App:

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From the Docs:

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This is interesting: (if you're in in the industry and/or a solid urban planning geek, LOL)


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A tidbit here some will know; but for those who may not: (This will especially please @HousingNowTO )

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Overall comments:

A lot to like here in terms of intensification, and pretty reasonable architecture on the whole. Regular UT'ers will know my preference for shorter podium/streetwalls, generally in the 3-4s range; but I don't mind the taller form here on a very wide road.

There is some room for improvement though. First and foremost there are no trees proposed in the Lake Shore Blvd frontage. 100% not acceptable. There's ample room.

Second, the vehicle access off Lake Shore is quite unfortunate. To be clear, there is no immediate alternative available. But as the context plan shows, redevelopment of the adjacent lands to the east and west is feasible and indeed probable in the years ahead.
It would be nice to consider creating a new rear-laneway parallel to Lake Shore from which vehicle and loading access could be obtained on this block. There is almost room now coming off of Fourtieth street, but there are obstacles and obviously the land/structures would have to be acquired. The City should give consideration to doing this itself as part of properly servicing the entire block.
 
Very interesting proposal, although it wont be built as currently proposed, the massing is certainly appropriate for the area. I've never understood why this stretch of Lake Shore hasnt seen any proposals for redevelopment as it's pretty ripe for some mid-rise builds at the very least, or proposals such as this.

I'll agree with @Northern Light's assessment that the vehicle access off Lake Shore is unfortunate and problematic. I'd actually say it's a recipe for disaster, as this is where Brown's Line terminates and traffic funnels onto Lake Shore right in front of this proposal. In addition, streetcars enter/exit Long Branch loop here, and buses enter the loop creating for some interesting traffic scenarios to say the least.
 
@Northern Light pointed this proposal out a couple of days ago in the Zoning Reforms thread. Really hopeful that TO Planning will make the Toronto ziggurat a thing of the past.

I really like the positive words here (“The guidelines' replacement of a 45-degree angular plane with a transition through stepbacks suggests this is a reasonable method for transitioning into designated Neighbourhoods while ensuring appropriate density is achieved on a mixed-use Avenue”). Maybe someday soon we’ll see simpler, cheaper, reasonable guidelines across the city.

PS. Strongly agree about the trees.
 
This new Application to the AIC comes from the distant wilds of the south-west end, an area some UT'ers refer to as @Amare - land

It proposes to redevelop 3 modest 2-storey commercial storefront buildings on Lake Shore Blvd West into an 11-storey building.

The addresses involved at 3807-3815 Lake Shore Blvd West. This is just west of Fourtieth Street and just south-east of Long Branch GO.

Site as is:

View attachment 444343

The App:

View attachment 444344


From the Docs:

View attachment 444345

View attachment 444350

View attachment 444346

View attachment 444348
View attachment 444349

View attachment 444351
View attachment 444352

This is interesting: (if you're in in the industry and/or a solid urban planning geek, LOL)


View attachment 444353

A tidbit here some will know; but for those who may not: (This will especially please @HousingNowTO )

View attachment 444354

Overall comments:

A lot to like here in terms of intensification, and pretty reasonable architecture on the whole. Regular UT'ers will know my preference for shorter podium/streetwalls, generally in the 3-4s range; but I don't mind the taller form here on a very wide road.

There is some room for improvement though. First and foremost there are no trees proposed in the Lake Shore Blvd frontage. 100% not acceptable. There's ample room.

Second, the vehicle access off Lake Shore is quite unfortunate. To be clear, there is no immediate alternative available. But as the context plan shows, redevelopment of the adjacent lands to the east and west is feasible and indeed probable in the years ahead.
It would be nice to consider creating a new rear-laneway parallel to Lake Shore from which vehicle and loading access could be obtained on this block. There is almost room now coming off of Fourtieth street, but there are obstacles and obviously the land/structures would have to be acquired. The City should give consideration to doing this itself as part of properly servicing the entire block.
As someone who lives in south Etobicoke (literally 20 blocks east of the site) it's great to see the spur in development along Lake Shore. Mimico, New Toronto and Long Branch have some of the best urban form outside the old city and more transit oriented development will only improve that. Great to see the relatively small number of parking units, will do a lot to drive ridership on the Lake Shore streetcar and GO.
 
Anybody know if this project has been progressing smoothly? Last time i walked by the pizza spot the proposal sign was no longer in the window
 
So, the developer bought a couple of adjacent properties... and this is a little taller than it was before.

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Front page story here!

42
 
So, the developer bought a couple of adjacent properties... and this is a little taller than it was before.

57330-176818.jpg


Front page story here!

42
Well that is quite a change. I’m not familiar with the planning for the stretch, but would additional redevelopments of this magnitude be supportable? And when would the TTC streetcar lines then be made grade separated from the rest of the street to enhance transit flow, along with the elimination of on street parking. This would be a new work to Lakeshore West.
 
Well that is quite a change. I’m not familiar with the planning for the stretch, but would additional redevelopments of this magnitude be supportable? And when would the TTC streetcar lines then be made grade separated from the rest of the street to enhance transit flow, along with the elimination of on street parking. This would be a new work to Lakeshore West.

It will get a lot of opposition from the local residents' association who have kicked up a fight for *much* smaller things.


Given the context, I'd support a trimmed version in the 30 storey range, although I'm interested in @Northern Light's thoughts on vehicle access, given his comments on the previous proposal.
 
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Just a little context as to what the developer is responding to. This is near a GO station and its zoning as well as being west of Humber College. Also this is a nice neighbourhood that is close to the Lake and has decent Main Street retail as well as Sherway a few kms away. I know why a lot of residents may give lip-service to opposing this but this will ultimately appeal to a lot of them as a downsizing option.
 
I see this as the new precedent as all along the shoreline these are going up.
 

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