Toronto TeaHouse 501 Yonge Condominiums | 170.98m | 52s | Lanterra | a—A

Podiums are pretty much standard now no? They help reduce wind tunnel effects.

I'm kind of torn on this property being condo-ized, but it's likely because I'm just stuck in the past and resistant to change on my favorate street. It will probably be a good thing. I'd especially like it if the developer maintains current rents, or close to it so that we get back some of the diverse retail that is found on Yonge Street and not the standard dry cleaner, Rabba and bank branch - though that's likely a pipe dream.
 
Last edited:
maestro said:
I also think you're overestimating how tall a developer is required to build here. 100 to 125 metres is the tippy tip of what I'd count on height wise.
Click to expand...

That 100 to 125 meters for that area is nowhere in the city planning dept. set in stone.:confused:...when your paying 40 million bucks for a property you sure are not looking at building 100 meter 35 storey buildings..
 
Automation Gallery said:
Yeah, taller (180-220 meters) and maybe with more of a twist and a powerfull podium..

I wouldnt mind to see something similar to this..:cool:
Everglades-on-the-Bay1.jpg
Click to expand...

For such a site: overbearing.

What *might* be cool would be if they recreated the original Westbury here, a decade and a half after they eviscerated the real thing the next block down...
 
Automation Gallery said:
That 100 to 125 meters for that area is nowhere in the city planning dept. set in stone.:confused:...when your paying 40 million bucks for a property you sure are not looking at building 100 meter 35 storey buildings..
Click to expand...

Not sure what you are talking about in regards to the planning department. They have little to do with my thoughts. Lanterra should meet their goals within that height range.
 
Wonderful news!
I can't belive in is happening for real. I should pinch myself..
Even an empty parking lot is still better , than this drab strip plaza, which should not be allowed to be bilt anywhere , let alone in Downtown stretch of Yonge Street, in the first place, for sure!
 
Last edited:
But if it will appear as a quality structure , this will be the like revolution of the Yong Street!
 
Last edited:
maestro said:
Not sure what you are talking about in regards to the planning department. They have little to do with my thoughts. Lanterra should meet their goals within that height range.
Click to expand...

Well let me clarify..who sets these height regulations, and are they set in stone.( in other words is that final and approved). Lanterra most likely are not setting their goals at that height but much taller.
 
I'm just remembering now, at one of the planning meetings I attended last fall it was clearly stated by a City Planner that highrise development along Yonge Street from Carlton to Bloor isn't in the cards, excluding the Yonge & Bloor node. Lanterra may be in for quite a fight here.
 
Automation Gallery said:
Well let me clarify..who sets these height regulations, and are they set in stone.( in other words is that final and approved). Lanterra most likely are not setting their goals at that height but much taller.
Click to expand...


Again with the height regulations. I don't the know size of the property or what Lanterra paid for it but, it's a good guess they didn't pay some outrageous price that they have to build higher than my proposed heights. Feel free to explain why a developer would build 70 storeys when 30 storey would suffice.
 
maestro said:
Again with the height regulations. I don't the know size of the property or what Lanterra paid for it but, it's a good guess they didn't pay some outrageous price that they have to build higher than my proposed heights. Feel free to explain why a developer would build 70 storeys when 30 storey would suffice.
Click to expand...

Money?
 
Well the property is zoned for a maximum height of 14m, so no matter what, they'll be going for a Zoning By-Law Amendment. This will allow us to see what height they're looking at getting, even before they submit a site plan.

They can go for the Rezoning application before they have a final site plan nailed down, and they'd likely try to get this in ASAP because what happens with the rezoning process may drastically change their proposed design. Hopefully we'll find out soon.
 
urbandreamer said:
Isn't Aura just down the street? Or how about Heintzman Place--two crazy tall towers allowed in a lowrise area yet along this Yonge St strip with towers so close by they're not allowed to go so high? Something's wrong in the Toronto Planning world....
Click to expand...

I believe those sites were also rezoned in order to permit higher density. If the zoning isn't broken, they rarely fix it. That site has been lowrise since, well, forever. There was no reason for the City to proactively change the zoning, especially if they can make money off a developer applying to request a rezoning.

Just because they're not allowed to build high as-of-right doesn't mean the City won't support a rezoning to allow additional density. Why should the City go around the entire city spending staff time (and therefore money) changing the zoning on sites that may or may not ever be developed? If they want to change the type of development in an area, they'll change the designation in the Official Plan, and then let the individual developers apply for whatever rezoning they need.
 
Last edited:
maestro said:
Again with the height regulations. I don't the know size of the property or what Lanterra paid for it but, it's a good guess they didn't pay some outrageous price that they have to build higher than my proposed heights. Feel free to explain why a developer would build 70 storeys when 30 storey would suffice.
Click to expand...

According to Urbanation, they paid $38.5 million for the site. They'll want more than 14 metres to recoup that.

42
 
I hope to see something of distinction on this site. And I agree that the present strip of stores is, and always has been, a tacky mess, but there should be more than a Yonge St. focus to this project.

Let's remember that this is not just a parcel of land facing Yonge; it is also a southwestern anchor of the gay village. I lived in the village for 10+ years, for a while on Isabella, and later on Alexander. The village is an intoxicating area in many ways. I don't want to see the area east of Yonge overwhelmed by this new development.

Walking into Alexander St. from Yonge in summertime, or indeed into any of the other streets in the village that run eastward from Yonge, you'll most likely find that it is no mediocre area. By some pretty cool planetary alignment, the buildings, the scale, the plantings - in short, every element, contribute to a very livable environment. I have chosen to write "into" as opposed to "onto" because the neighbourhood has a way of possessing you, once you have arrived. I can't readily think of many other 'hoods with that sort of characteristic. I am aware that residents of Charles St, further north, are a bit antsy about their street being overwhelmed, and I am wondering if Alexander / Maitland residents will be saying much the same thing in the future.

Specifically what I would not want to occur is the walling-off of the neighbourhood from Yonge by anything too hulking. If height has to come, then can it please be in a graceful form, instead of the broad po-mo slabs suggested above?

Something creative and inviting that enhances the existing character to the east would be welcome; let's hope the developers key in on this. The alternative that is worrisome to me is some sort of dialogue with Aura which is rising 2 blocks to the south.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to post here.

Back
Top