Oakville Oakville Green Life Sciences & Technology District | ?m | 33s | Queensgate | Gensler

[SaugeenJunction]

Didn't see a forum for the proposed "Oakville Health, Science and Technology District" to be built near the new Oakville hospital on Dundas so I decided to make one.

Article: http://www.insidehalton.com/news-st...-call-for-building-heights-between-eight-and/

Town of Oakville website: http://oakville.ca/business/da-12281.html

 

[Edward Skira]

Nothing but empty fields on the site. Here's some photos of the hospital which is on the other side of Third Line.

 

[mininamib]

Here is a pre-sales marketing page for the residential towers including updated images for the general district plans:

Oakville Green Condos | Platinum VIP Pricing & Plans | MyCondoPro

Oakville Green Condos is a new condo development in a masterplanned community. Coming soon to 2005 Glenorchy Road in Oakville.

mycondopro.ca

 

[Tim MacDonald]

I'll add this to my Oakville list for a flyover.

 

[Northern Light]

I feel like the proposal above is a fail to me.

I see the suggestion/attempt at interesting architecture, but it reminds me a bit of 'Le Defense', in Paris. It reads cold, aloof, and lacking in human scale.

That's if they actually build the render, for which, for obvious reasons one might be a tad suspicious it will be otherwise.

 

[mininamib]

I feel like the proposal above is a fail to me.

I see the suggestion/attempt at interesting architecture, but it reminds me a bit of 'Le Defense', in Paris. It reads cold, aloof, and lacking in human scale.

That's if they actually build the render, for which, for obvious reasons one might be a tad suspicious it will be otherwise.

I guess we will have to wait and see. The design seems pretty detailed: perhaps it won't be built in its entirety, but I doubt that the final "product" will deviate much from the plans. I am surprised by the heavy research-focus of the district. I think my main concern with this project goes along with the rest of the development along Dundas: we seem a long way off from a desperately needed BRT or other transit alternative for the Dundas corridor. Traffic was already very substantial 10 years ago and the road is - for pedestrians - dangerously wide. Even though there are many big box retail options near the developments (such as at the intersection of Dundas and Third Line), I can easily imagine the new residents still using their cars for a quick grocery run. Between the long stretches, wide roads and carparks, and excessive wind which isn't blocked by smaller buildings and trees in those carparks or along Dundas, I find north Oakville to still be a pedestrian unfriendly environment.

 

[wopchop]

Ridiculous location for development that should be transit supported. I felt this way about the new hospital as well, for what it is worth. Dundas St in Oakville is not transit friendly at all, and that does not appear like that will change. The road was recently widened to 3 lanes in each direction, plus right and left turning lanes everywhere, plus the huge setbacks on the north side. It will be a highway for many years to come, if not decades.

The proposed use cases - conference centre, university, office, would be more appropriate near the GO Station, where it seems like we might end up with only condo towers.

Also no developer will build anything close to that diamond glass curtain-wall cladding. It will end up value engineered to kingdom come - it would end up a sin to even call it a knock off of 81 Bay St.

 

[UtakataNoAnnex]

I feel like the proposal above is a fail to me.

I see the suggestion/attempt at interesting architecture, but it reminds me a bit of 'Le Defense', in Paris. It reads cold, aloof, and lacking in human scale.

That's if they actually build the render, for which, for obvious reasons one might be a tad suspicious it will be otherwise.

Despite those faults...if something like that gets built to those renders with quality materials...in Oakville of all places, most of us will be falling out of our chairs. Goodness...

 

[mininamib]

Ridiculous location for development that should be transit supported. I felt this way about the new hospital as well, for what it is worth. Dundas St in Oakville is not transit friendly at all, and that does not appear like that will change. The road was recently widened to 3 lanes in each direction, plus right and left turning lanes everywhere, plus the huge setbacks on the north side. It will be a highway for many years to come, if not decades.

The proposed use cases - conference centre, university, office, would be more appropriate near the GO Station, where it seems like we might end up with only condo towers.

Also no developer will build anything close to that diamond glass curtain-wall cladding. It will end up value engineered to kingdom come - it would end up a sin to even call it a knock off of 81 Bay St.

That's an astute analysis of the location and its failings. I can, however, see a push for more automobile-based public transit along Dundas with this and other developments. This district could easily be the location of 1 or 2 GO bus stops (or terminals?) and Oakville transit hub like at Sheridan College on Trafalgar.

 

[wopchop]

That's an astute analysis of the location and its failings. I can, however, see a push for more automobile-based public transit along Dundas with this and other developments. This district could easily be the location of 1 or 2 GO bus stops (or terminals?) and Oakville transit hub like at Sheridan College on Trafalgar.

Yes, you could do that. Or the Town could try to put transit dependent infrastructure near the major rapid transit station in the town. A station that happens to be one of the busiest in the whole train network, on the busiest line. Rapid transit works better when all these destinations coalesce, not when they are plopped here and there across a vast suburban town. That doesn't help riders at all.

For this area, none of the surrounding neighborhood was really designed to be transit friendly. It sort of is, in a token way, but not really. The whole area north of Dundas was sold as a transit first, new urbanist blah blah blah. All these people have vehicles, because they cannot live in this neighbourhood or town without one - even if there was a BRT on Dundas.

 

[Paclo]

New renderings have been added to the database. I'll post some additional slides here:

Phasing plan:

Top down view:

Pedestrian Realm:

Additional info and diagrams can be found on the project website.