adma
Superstar
Actually, esp. by council standards, Kyle Rae was quite powerful as a pro-preservation force as well--just with a different thrust. (Comes with being a queer aesthete, I guess.)
Toronto Wellesley on the Park | 194.15m | 60s | Lanterra | KPMB
- Thread starter Mike in TO
- Start date
Actually, esp. by council standards, Kyle Rae was quite powerful as a pro-preservation force as well--just with a different thrust. (Comes with being a queer aesthete, I guess.)
confusion
Active Member
Hey that mockup is great. I bet it would be great for the YMCA there too! Excellent idea.
prettyflamingo
New Member
toto
Active Member
How about a comprimise. Build the park, remove the buildings that are not heritage, allowing access to the park from Yonge st. Redevelop the rear of the remaining buildings to face the park. I envision restaurants, patios, bars and even some retail. Something like this would be a much better use of the space than another couple condos.
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MisterF
Senior Member
Reality check: this is private property guys. The only way it'll become a park is if the city buys it.
College Park
Active Member
It is the rear of those buildings in particular which stand out as an argument for building and not placement of a park: it is an ugly view from the Opera Place side. The laneway is not St Nicolas, a lane which is bordered by pleasingly aged brick walls and little hidden shops. Greenspaces like that which surround the YMCA are integrated with the building itself, and are beautiful and more pleasingly urban. Take the subway parks parallel to Yonge: the Children's Aid site, selected townhomes and Bumpkins Restaurant spaces address the park, but for the most part, it's a raw slash through a neighborhood.
ponyboy
Active Member
that strip of green on the east side of Yonge over the subway could be a lot better, but i suspect that zoning prevents those businesses from having nice patios out back, and the need for loading and unloading behind the businesses makes is smelly and busy with deliveries. I would love to see a nice park right along Yonge (something like Bryant), because, as is, there are hardly even place to sit anywhere along yonge between bloor and college.
Automation Gallery
Superstar
You guys could all knock it off with your imaginary parks..this site will house a hi-rise building, like or not.
toto
Active Member
I know that. I'm just trying stir up some discussion that differs from the usual, "let's hope they put up a 80 storey condo here".
My apology for going off topic.
This city is in bad need of some dreamers that can look beyond the status quo.
prettyflamingo
New Member
WOW, G-d is here!
confusion
Active Member
Support a new park in downtown Toronto (I don't know how close to reality this actually is):
http://www.baycloverhill.com/interesting-articles/130-support-for-a-park-at-11-wellesley-street-west.html
and
http://thetorontoblog.com/2011/04/21/public-urged-to-pressure-politicians-to-create-park-on-wellesley-st-site-of-stalled-apartment-project/
From the article:
"Potential parkland: Could a big piece of prime downtown real estate become a public park instead of the apartment complex that a developer had planned to build on the site? Apparently so — if enough people can convince city and provincial politicians to make it happen.
The land in question has a municipal address of 11 Wellesley Street West, and occupies the eastern half of the city block bounded by Wellesley to the north, St. Luke Lane to the east, Breadalbane Street to the south, and Bay street to the west. Over the past two decades, it has earned notoriety as a site where ambitious development plans fail to materialize.
Back in the late 1980s, the provincial government donated the entire block of land for construction of a new ballet/opera house. Various levels of government pledged tens of millions of dollars toward the project, and construction of a spectacular building designed by architect Moshe Safdie was supposed to start early in 1991. However, with Ontario in the throes of a recession and facing a $2.5 billion budget deficit, the province’s newly-elected NDP government withdrew its $65 million cash pledge. In turn, the federal government and Metro Toronto cancelled their pledges for $88 million and $20 million, respectively, and the project was cancelled.
A skateboard park occupied the site for a few years until a developer acquired the western half of the property and built the Allegro at Opera Place condo tower and The Bay Club rental apartment building along Bay Street. The developer, Morguard, planned to build two more apartment buildings, 9 and 10 storeys tall, on the 11 Wellesley West site, along with a recreational amenities facility for the use of residents in all of the buildings (including two more Opera Place condo towers previously constructed one block south on Bay Street, between Breadalbane and Grosvenor Streets). However, shovels never got in the ground for the final phase of construction, and the property has sat vacant behind hoarding ever since — an eyesore that annoys hundreds of residents in the condos and apartments overlooking the site, not to mention passersby on Wellesley and Breadalbane.
I have long wondered why Morguard wanted to build only low-rise apartments on a location ideal for highrise development — to me, tall condo towers would suit the space better, and might even be substantially more profitable. I have also wondered why it has been taking so long for the final phase of Opera Place construction to commence. Last month, a city planning department official told a community meeting I attended that the site has sat empty for years because the developer and the Ontario Government have been embroiled in litigation over the property. No further details were provided about the nature of the dispute, but the planner said the parties are close to signing a settlement under which the province could re-acquire the land. If that does happen, the province apparently has indicated that it would be willing to give the property to the city for use as a community park — if that’s what people want.
Now, at least one neighbourhood group is encouraging residents to write to their city councillor and their MPP to say they want 11 Wellesley West turned into parkland. A page on the Bay Cloverhill Community Association website urges residents to contact City Councillor Kristyn Wong-tam and MPP Glen Murray to show their support for the creation of a new park. Will it happen? Perhaps, if enough Toronto residents put pressure on the local politicians.Personally, I favour turning the site into public green space; even though I didn’t skateboard, I still remember enjoying the wide open space along Wellesley before the skateboard park was closed off. The empty land and the unsightly hoarding have been a blight on the neighbourhood ever since, and it’s high time something creative is done to enhance the property and surrounding streetscapes. At the same time, I’m skeptical that we’ll see a new park on Wellesley anytime soon. Empty land in downtown Toronto rarely gets repurposed as parkland; inevitably, it attracts the attention of developers, and winds up sprouting condo towers instead of trees. Moreover, this particular piece of land seems to have been jinxed since the opera house plan fell apart. I hope I’m wrong. I’d really love to see trees along Wellesley."
http://www.baycloverhill.com/interesting-articles/130-support-for-a-park-at-11-wellesley-street-west.html
and
http://thetorontoblog.com/2011/04/21/public-urged-to-pressure-politicians-to-create-park-on-wellesley-st-site-of-stalled-apartment-project/
From the article:
"Potential parkland: Could a big piece of prime downtown real estate become a public park instead of the apartment complex that a developer had planned to build on the site? Apparently so — if enough people can convince city and provincial politicians to make it happen.
The land in question has a municipal address of 11 Wellesley Street West, and occupies the eastern half of the city block bounded by Wellesley to the north, St. Luke Lane to the east, Breadalbane Street to the south, and Bay street to the west. Over the past two decades, it has earned notoriety as a site where ambitious development plans fail to materialize.
Back in the late 1980s, the provincial government donated the entire block of land for construction of a new ballet/opera house. Various levels of government pledged tens of millions of dollars toward the project, and construction of a spectacular building designed by architect Moshe Safdie was supposed to start early in 1991. However, with Ontario in the throes of a recession and facing a $2.5 billion budget deficit, the province’s newly-elected NDP government withdrew its $65 million cash pledge. In turn, the federal government and Metro Toronto cancelled their pledges for $88 million and $20 million, respectively, and the project was cancelled.
A skateboard park occupied the site for a few years until a developer acquired the western half of the property and built the Allegro at Opera Place condo tower and The Bay Club rental apartment building along Bay Street. The developer, Morguard, planned to build two more apartment buildings, 9 and 10 storeys tall, on the 11 Wellesley West site, along with a recreational amenities facility for the use of residents in all of the buildings (including two more Opera Place condo towers previously constructed one block south on Bay Street, between Breadalbane and Grosvenor Streets). However, shovels never got in the ground for the final phase of construction, and the property has sat vacant behind hoarding ever since — an eyesore that annoys hundreds of residents in the condos and apartments overlooking the site, not to mention passersby on Wellesley and Breadalbane.
I have long wondered why Morguard wanted to build only low-rise apartments on a location ideal for highrise development — to me, tall condo towers would suit the space better, and might even be substantially more profitable. I have also wondered why it has been taking so long for the final phase of Opera Place construction to commence. Last month, a city planning department official told a community meeting I attended that the site has sat empty for years because the developer and the Ontario Government have been embroiled in litigation over the property. No further details were provided about the nature of the dispute, but the planner said the parties are close to signing a settlement under which the province could re-acquire the land. If that does happen, the province apparently has indicated that it would be willing to give the property to the city for use as a community park — if that’s what people want.
Now, at least one neighbourhood group is encouraging residents to write to their city councillor and their MPP to say they want 11 Wellesley West turned into parkland. A page on the Bay Cloverhill Community Association website urges residents to contact City Councillor Kristyn Wong-tam and MPP Glen Murray to show their support for the creation of a new park. Will it happen? Perhaps, if enough Toronto residents put pressure on the local politicians.Personally, I favour turning the site into public green space; even though I didn’t skateboard, I still remember enjoying the wide open space along Wellesley before the skateboard park was closed off. The empty land and the unsightly hoarding have been a blight on the neighbourhood ever since, and it’s high time something creative is done to enhance the property and surrounding streetscapes. At the same time, I’m skeptical that we’ll see a new park on Wellesley anytime soon. Empty land in downtown Toronto rarely gets repurposed as parkland; inevitably, it attracts the attention of developers, and winds up sprouting condo towers instead of trees. Moreover, this particular piece of land seems to have been jinxed since the opera house plan fell apart. I hope I’m wrong. I’d really love to see trees along Wellesley."
I wouldn't be against a park on part of this site, but I would rather see development along the east edge of it. The St. Luke alleyway that runs down the east side right now does not offer pleasing views of the backside of Yonge businesses. Putting a line of mid-rise TCHC residences on the west edge of St. Luke could give the east edge of a park a pleasant edge.
Also - where the Bay Club podium ends currently looks terrible - and that spot should be addressed too. Maybe a short extension east along Wellesley where architectural attention could be paid to a new park, eg. fenestration.
Hopefully cool heads will prevail and it won't be a case of "it's all got to be park". If we are going to get a park here, let it have aesthetically pleasing edges.
42
Also - where the Bay Club podium ends currently looks terrible - and that spot should be addressed too. Maybe a short extension east along Wellesley where architectural attention could be paid to a new park, eg. fenestration.
Hopefully cool heads will prevail and it won't be a case of "it's all got to be park". If we are going to get a park here, let it have aesthetically pleasing edges.
42
Actually, here's a first thought of what I'd do... partly courtesy of Google.
42
42
Automation Gallery
Superstar
May i ask, why TCHC housing for this location.
Automation Gallery
Superstar
Actually, here's a first thought of what I'd do... partly courtesy of Google.
42
Park is OK, but even better..keep the park where it is, build a new north-bound road (Breadelbane-Wellesley) on east side of the park..leave that space where you have proposed TCHC housing empty and wait for a developer to buy that west side Yonge street block plus this empty space (to make it worthwhile), and hopefully the developer salvages some of the Yonge st. facades, does away with the laneway, and proposes and builds something half decent for that west side of Yonge street.