Curious what your ideal proposal here might look like given the opportunities and constraints imposed by the current system.
There are a raft of choices, all dependent on a host of other things.
That's not a cop-out, and I'll outline some thinking below.
But let's start where this goes wrong; Canada Lands Co. selling a public property at a prime location without considering the public good in the sale whatsoever.
No consideration of affordable housing, no consideration of purpose-built rental, no consideration of an optimal layout for Harbour Street, etc etc.
That singular action puts everything on a very bad trajectory, because once a developer has paid a speculative maximum based on what they hope to be able to build, they are
almost forever trapped by having to recover and make margin on that price.
The only saving grace, arguably, being Toronto's spiraling real estate costs which conceivably allow recovery of the purchase on a smaller or more expensive build over time.
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That said, we are where we are; so what now?
We need to decide what our assumptions are on the constraints of the site.
Clearly, separation distances are a glaring limitation, that a serious challenge to overcome.
Height limits, either due to shadowing or if applicable, flight paths.
The narrow public realm on Harbour.
The City's requirements for parks/public space.
From a marketability perspective, the question of what views one can sell also matter, with the least appealing being those are essentially southerly (except mid-site) and easterly as they are straight into the condos at Waterclub.
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Now let's try this from a 'What could make this sell or rent at the highest $ per ft2'?
Views.....so what we want are the clear'ish north-western view across the Gardiner, affording a western sunset; an eastern corridor along the Harbour canyon, or a southern view through the Waterclub towers
or over the top of them (ideally Lake view).
You also want to address the area if you can with your S. 37/42 contributions to boost the desirability of your own property, and consider the public realm on the same basis.
1) Zero Parks or Pops on-site, adds no value from the perspective of a resident.
2) Agree with City to spend those land value dollars on the Waterfront Promenade bridges for WT; showpieces that stitch the trail together, comparatively easy to render and deliver quickly, they can add value to the property, while meeting a long-standing City-building goal.
3) Widen the Habour public realm, its nothing be regrettable now. Making it wider, safer, and wherever possible offering a row of trees is $$
4) Dog-relief/winter dog walking can go on the top of the podium, and waste heat from the podium can be recycled as a snow-melt system making it pleasant to use year round.
Work is kinda busy today, so I'll back to the question below, in a separate post.
Now, how do you maximize buildable area, (lets assume roughly that conventional separation distances apply).
