Toronto The Well | 174.03m | 46s | RioCan | Hariri Pontarini

AHK said:
August 11: Another milestone for The Well project - Landscaping of the Wellington Street boulevard is starting. The work is to be done in stages, with the first step being the boulevard in front of the 401 Wellington Street building. The boulevard areas, except for the walk path to the front door, was fenced off yesterday, and this morning contract staff are on site. The contract for at least the stretch on the south side of Wellington between Spadina and Draper is being handled by Delterra.

City council approved a motion requiring the entire Wellington Street boulevard area, north and south sides , between Spadina and Portland be coordinated, along with the parkland dedication on the north side of Wellington - known informally as the 'Cat Park', based on an initial proposed design by Claude Cormier. Presumably (an assumption on my part), the design of what is being started now is as per the original approved design as submitted to the City. I do not know the design status of the components other than the south side stretch between Spadina and Draper that are now underway, whether they have been finalized - so I do not know if the contract with Delterra, would be a challenge if the design has not been finalized and approved.

The work on the south side of Wellington is to be done in stages, starting with the work in front of the 401 Wellington building. The next stage is to be the boulevard in front of the building at the south-east corner of Wellington and Draper - the Osmington building at 479 Wellington Street West. The boulevard areas in front of the Well's north side residential buildings will come later, as the construction related activities currently occupying these areas are completed.

Tho photos of the fenced off boulevard areas in front of 401 Wellington:

And as side note for those who may not be aware - the Wellington Street right of way, including the 'city allowance' between Spadina and Portland is very wide. Aall the building frontages on both the north and south sides of Wellington are basically at their lot lines, all else is the City's boulevard area. All the parking areas in front of the buildings are city property, for which boulevard parking permits have been in place, which is what is allowing the boulevard ares to be redeveloped.

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You are the BEST with these industry/engineering explanations for non industry people like me! Very exciting and I'm actually surprised how early this is starting with the tenants coming in Q2 2022 they're quite ahead?
 
Couple more from Will Smith

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AHK said:
City council approved a motion requiring the entire Wellington Street boulevard area, north and south sides , between Spadina and Portland be coordinated, along with the parkland dedication on the north side of Wellington - known informally as the 'Cat Park', based on an initial proposed design by Claude Cormier.
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Here is the Wellington Street design by Claude Cormier:

the-cats-16.jpg


More drawings available here: https://www.claudecormier.com/en/projet/the-cats/
 
AHK said:
August 11: Another milestone for The Well project - Landscaping of the Wellington Street boulevard is starting. The work is to be done in stages, with the first step being the boulevard in front of the 401 Wellington Street building. The boulevard areas, except for the walk path to the front door, was fenced off yesterday, and this morning contract staff are on site. The contract for at least the stretch on the south side of Wellington between Spadina and Draper is being handled by Delterra.

City council approved a motion requiring the entire Wellington Street boulevard area, north and south sides , between Spadina and Portland be coordinated, along with the parkland dedication on the north side of Wellington - known informally as the 'Cat Park', based on an initial proposed design by Claude Cormier. Presumably (an assumption on my part), the design of what is being started now is as per the original approved design as submitted to the City. I do not know the design status of the components other than the south side stretch between Spadina and Draper that are now underway, whether they have been finalized - so I do not know if the contract with Delterra, would be a challenge if the design has not been finalized and approved.

The work on the south side of Wellington is to be done in stages, starting with the work in front of the 401 Wellington building. The next stage is to be the boulevard in front of the building at the south-east corner of Wellington and Draper - the Osmington building at 479 Wellington Street West. The boulevard areas in front of the Well's north side residential buildings will come later, as the construction related activities currently occupying these areas are completed.

Tho photos of the fenced off boulevard areas in front of 401 Wellington:

And as side note for those who may not be aware - the Wellington Street right of way, including the 'city allowance' between Spadina and Portland is very wide. All the building frontages on both the north and south sides of Wellington are basically at their lot lines, all else is the City's boulevard area. All the parking areas in front of the buildings are city property, for which boulevard parking permits have been in place, which is what is allowing the boulevard ares to be redeveloped.

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Is there a city document on this or anything? Also will the road be repaved and include bike lanes?
 
Additional comment on the Wellington Street streetscaping. My understanding is: As part of the public domain and parkland dedication commitments for The Well project, the developers committed to upgrade the south side of Wellington between Spadina and Portland, landscape the parkette on the piece of land extending to Draper, and convey the parcel of land on the north side of Wellington Street to the City as its park land contribution.

From my understanding, streetscaping the south side of Wellington Street between Draper and Portland, the entire north side of Wellington from Spadina to Portland, as well as the design and execution of the park on the north side of Welllington Street were not, and are not in the scope of work being undertaken by The Well consortium. While Claude Cormier has prepared initial design concept drawings, to my knowledge he has not been formally engaged to handle the streetscaping design outside of the work currently being started by The Well.

When the local residents' association became aware of this, Councillor Cressy was contacted and asked to get the City involved so that streetscaping for both sides of Wellington Street, the entire length between Spadina and Portland Streets, as well as the park on the north side of Wellington, could be redeveloped in an overall, coordinated manner - a resolution which was sponsored by Joe Cressy and was approved by City Council.

At this point, I am not aware of any plans or designs being approved by the City other than what was committed, and approved by the City for the stretch along the south side of the street being done by The Well project team. To my knowledge, nothing has been provided by the City to the local resident's association, nor have any consultations taken place.

There are two independently owned properties on the south side of Wellington between Draper and Portland, the building at 485 Wellington Street, which is pending condominium redevelopment by Lifetime, and Portland Commons. The Portland Commons project, currently underway, does not impact the Wellington Street side of the property, so streetscaping there should not be an issue, however the area in front of 485 Wellington will probably have to wait until the new development is substantially complete.

The north side of Wellington will be a bit more complex. There are already some newer buildings which have already done their boulevard improvements as part of their development (500 and 508 Wellington West). There are also a couple of restaurant patios - The Wellington pub and Marben - to be considered. And there are a number of pending developments along the north side stretch of Wellington between Spadina and Portland - so timing of the streetscaping work is going to be very jagged. The other issue is going to be who pays. Obviously, The Well is paying for the south stretch between Spadina and Portland. The City could possibly lean on Lifetime to incorporate the streetscaping in front of the 485 Wellington building as part of the approval of their plans. But the Portland Commons project work does not touch Wellington Street at all, and their redevelopment plans have already been approved by the City. The buildings at 500 and 508 did their improvements - and paid for them - when they were built. Not sure if the City can go back to these buildings and say they have to now pay for the streetscaping to be done all over again. The buildings are both condominiums, as is the Monarch Building further down the block at 436 Wellington - the unit owners would justifiably be upset with a City imposed boulevard upgrade solution for which they would have to pay.
So I am presuming that the City would have to fund the north side streetscaping improvements for all the properties which are staying in place, and work with the developers to incorporate the final streetscaping design for the properties being redeveloped within the foreseeable future. Not to say that things might not already be in the works, but I have not heard anything about the project being initiated, and funding being formally approved and budgeted by the City at this time.

A grand vision - Yes. A piecemeal start on the overall project - Yes. A clear path and timeframe by which the balance of the work is to be started, yet along completed - No, and it may be a long way off, unfortunately.

At least this is my understanding - if anyone has more specific knowledge and can clarify or correct this - please provide your comments.
 
AHK said:
Additional comment on the Wellington Street streetscaping. My understanding is: As part of the public domain and parkland dedication commitments for The Well project, the developers committed to upgrade the south side of Wellington between Spadina and Portland, landscape the parkette on the piece of land extending to Draper, and convey the parcel of land on the north side of Wellington Street to the City as its park land contribution.

From my understanding, streetscaping the south side of Wellington Street between Draper and Portland, the entire north side of Wellington from Spadina to Portland, as well as the design and execution of the park on the north side of Welllington Street were not, and are not in the scope of work being undertaken by The Well consortium. While Claude Cormier has prepared initial design concept drawings, to my knowledge he has not been formally engaged to handle the streetscaping design outside of the work currently being started by The Well.

When the local residents' association became aware of this, Councillor Cressy was contacted and asked to get the City involved so that streetscaping for both sides of Wellington Street, the entire length between Spadina and Portland Streets, as well as the park on the north side of Wellington, could be redeveloped in an overall, coordinated manner - a resolution which was sponsored by Joe Cressy and was approved by City Council.

At this point, I am not aware of any plans or designs being approved by the City other than what was committed, and approved by the City for the stretch along the south side of the street being done by The Well project team. To my knowledge, nothing has been provided by the City to the local resident's association, nor have any consultations taken place.

There are two independently owned properties on the south side of Wellington between Draper and Portland, the building at 485 Wellington Street, which is pending condominium redevelopment by Lifetime, and Portland Commons. The Portland Commons project, currently underway, does not impact the Wellington Street side of the property, so streetscaping there should not be an issue, however the area in front of 485 Wellington will probably have to wait until the new development is substantially complete.

The north side of Wellington will be a bit more complex. There are already some newer buildings which have already done their boulevard improvements as part of their development (500 and 508 Wellington West). There are also a couple of restaurant patios - The Wellington pub and Marben - to be considered. And there are a number of pending developments along the north side stretch of Wellington between Spadina and Portland - so timing of the streetscaping work is going to be very jagged. The other issue is going to be who pays. Obviously, The Well is paying for the south stretch between Spadina and Portland. The City could possibly lean on Lifetime to incorporate the streetscaping in front of the 485 Wellington building as part of the approval of their plans. But the Portland Commons project work does not touch Wellington Street at all, and their redevelopment plans have already been approved by the City. The buildings at 500 and 508 did their improvements - and paid for them - when they were built. Not sure if the City can go back to these buildings and say they have to now pay for the streetscaping to be done all over again. The buildings are both condominiums, as is the Monarch Building further down the block at 436 Wellington - the unit owners would justifiably be upset with a City imposed boulevard upgrade solution for which they would have to pay.
So I am presuming that the City would have to fund the north side streetscaping improvements for all the properties which are staying in place, and work with the developers to incorporate the final streetscaping design for the properties being redeveloped within the foreseeable future. Not to say that things might not already be in the works, but I have not heard anything about the project being initiated, and funding being formally approved and budgeted by the City at this time.

A grand vision - Yes. A piecemeal start on the overall project - Yes. A clear path and timeframe by which the balance of the work is to be started, yet along completed - No, and it may be a long way off, unfortunately.

At least this is my understanding - if anyone has more specific knowledge and can clarify or correct this - please provide your comments.
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Very comprehensive.

I don't have much specific to add.

But I can say this, the City does have money in the Planning Department budget for streetscape improvements not tied to BIAs.
It also has money in assorted S.37 funds dedicated to off-site streetscape improvements where the streets for said improvements are not named.
So there may be options to fund Wellington from some of that money. But I have not seen the most current list of projects for 2022; or the balance of all unspent S.37 public realm money in the vicinity of Wellington.

In respect of Portland Commons, specifically, I can post this, from their S.37 agreement:

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Northern Light said:
Very comprehensive.

I don't have much specific to add.

But I can say this, the City does have money in the Planning Department budget for streetscape improvements not tied to BIAs.
It also has money in assorted S.37 funds dedicated to off-site streetscape improvements where the streets for said improvements are not named.
So there may be options to fund Wellington from some of that money. But I have not seen the most current list of projects for 2022; or the balance of all unspent S.37 public realm money in the vicinity of Wellington.

In respect of Portland Commons, specifically, I can post this, from their S.37 agreement:

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Click to expand...
Yes, the City seldom (never?) pays for streetscape improvements directly; all that I know of (mostly in St Lawrence) are either done by the developers themselves or from Section 37 benefits from the adjacent or near-by buildings. There are also often $$ from the local BIA. Not sure if there is one on Wellington/Front but I think not.)
 
DSC said:
Yes, the City seldom (never?) pays for streetscape improvements directly; all that I know of (mostly in St Lawrence) are either done by the developers themselves or from Section 37 benefits from the adjacent or near-by buildings. There are also often $$ from the local BIA. Not sure if there is one on Wellington/Front but I think not.)
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There is no BIA for that section of Wellington.

Currently the City-Place/Fort York BIA ends at Front Street in the north; and Downtown West (formerly Entertainment District) ends at Spadina in the west.

You can see the proximal boundaries here, on this very poorly done City Map.


Amusingly, I didn't not realize the Islands had a BIA, they've been tacked on to the Waterfront BIA.

****

And you are right in respect of the vast majority of $$$.

Planning has a small sum each year, ~3M most years which it can spend on streetscape in areas not covered by a BIA or specific S.37 funds.

This is often a source of improvement money for suburban road reconstruction projects; and the streetscape enhancements when channelized turns are removed.
 
Up to now, all the concrete poured at the south-west corner residential building (Building D) of The Well have been either by bucket lifts, or occasionally for larger pours, by mobile concrete pump trucks. However, Building D now has its own, recently arrived, resident concrete pump and distribution boom.

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