Toronto West Don Lands: Blocks 17 & 26 | 141m | 43s | Aspen Ridge | Core Architects

New article on global with a quote from Doug Ford: https://globalnews.ca/news/7654909/...ntario-government-negotiations-consultations/

“I know the deal has not been signed 100 per cent yet, so it’s not done until people sign on the dotted line. Our goal is to make sure that we have a thousand affordable units there for the people of Toronto who are in desperate need of affordable housing, but that process is still moving forward,” Ford told reporters.

“I can’t disclose all the details of this deal. Once the deal is signed, we’d be more than happy to be transparent — a hundred per cent transparent — but until that deal is signed, it will be confidential.”
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You literally can and should disclose details of a deal before it is signed, especially when there is no competitive bidding process for such a valuable piece of urban space. Infuriating!
 
Ottawan said:
I provided my feedback for the Province's consultation. I tried to not be political or too strident, in the hope that this would allow the points to speak for themselves:



Edit to add: I included my letter here in the hope that it might provide inspiration for others looking to draft feedback. I did not write it to be a form letter or applicable as anything but my own opinion, but if anyone wishes to cut and paste or paraphrase portions, feel free to do so.
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I want to explicitly mirror @smably 's sentiments above.

Your letter is thoughtful, evidence-based, reasonable, and persuasive.

An excellent effort!
 
For what it's worth I just sent this to Doug Ford and Minister Clark.

"I am writing to you, again, about the “Foundry Site” in downtown Toronto. Though I am certainly in favour of affordable housing being built, I am also in favour of heritage preservation and the two objectives are certainly not mutually exclusive. Look at the Distillery District and the West Don Lands not far from the Foundry as pretty good examples.

I remain very puzzled about your government’s plans for this site as Minister Clark issued a Ministerial Zoning Order in November with very specific permissions. Did these arise from discussions with a purchaser or were they determined in advance of any negotiations? In either case, it is ‘unfortunate’ that they were not arrived at after discussion with the City and citizens and that they made absolutely no mention of heritage or affordable housing.

Now, Minister Clark has apparently stated that the site has NOT been sold (from Toronto Star: “Municipal Affairs Minister Steve Clark insists the provincially owned land has not been sold to a developer.” ) and from Global News “There is no final sale on this property and that’s the most important point I can make to you. Regardless of conversations, we do not have an arrangement regarding the Eastern Avenue property,”´) while you are quoted (by Global News) as saying ““I know the deal has not been signed 100 per cent yet, so it’s not done until people sign on the dotted line. Our goal is to make sure that we have a thousand affordable units there for the people of Toronto who are in desperate need of affordable housing, but that process is still moving forward,””

If the Foundry site is to provide “a thousand affordable units” this will mean the building(s) will be about 100% affordable and why is this important ‘detail’ not noted in the MZO.

The Province should certainly not sit on prime land for decades (I think ‘we’ have owned this site for over 40 years) but after this amount of time I suggest there was (and still is) time to devote a few months to proper, open-minded and inclusive consultation. The ‘consultations’ that Minister Clark has commenced are being rushed and held without proper notice or thought. Frankly, this is a major site and would be a wonderful site for an international planning consultation and competition whose aim was to look at providing much-needed affordable housing while preserving most or all of the heritage buildings on the site. It’s never too late to do the right thing!"
 
This is may be of some interest as it shows that there can be many innovative uses of this site which can protect heritage, provide community space and affordable housing. The plan to have a performing arts space being suggested by IRCPPA ( https://urbantoronto.ca/forum/threa...7-26-dominion-foundry-complex-s.31716/page-25 )

MEDIA ADVISORY
PROTECT HERITAGE, BUILD AFFORDABLE HOUSING AT DOMINION FOUNDRY
On Wednesday February 24, 2021 at 10am, Friends of the Foundry will present work by prominent design professionals that challenges current plans to demolish the historic Foundry
site on Eastern Avenue in Toronto.
Join us at this online news conference to learn how the Government of Ontario can preserve some of Toronto’s early industrial buildings while building desperately needed affordable
housing and community space. Friends of the Foundry is releasing these ideas just hours before meeting with provincial officials, in what it hopes will be a first step towards a meaningful public consultation on the
site’s future.

The event will feature remarks from:
• Suzanne Kavanagh, St. Lawrence Neighbourhood Association
• Cynthia Wilkey, West Don Lands Committee
• Ken Greenberg, Greenberg Consultants
• Shirley Blumberg, KPMB Architects
• Sean Gadon, former Executive Director, City of Toronto Affordable Housing Office & Housing Secretariat
 
well well well. KPMB presents their design concept on behalf of the Foundry Friends. honestly, the mere fact that one of the most reputable architecture offices in Canada is doing charity work to help a local grassroots organization save some buildings in the name of democracy is heartwarming...
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The part of successful development, Doug, is the need for vision and empathy...where folks are compelled to throw money at it. It's funny in all that pro-business bluster, you don't seem to understand how the market works. Thus, suddenly showing up with bulldozers to knock things down unaccounted for will quickly turn into PR disaster.

On the other hand, the renders above my post show how it should be done....it's the best of most worlds. You should take a look at this, then turn it over to the right people to make it happen if you want to know what's best for you. Just saying.
 
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everydayhim said:
well well well. KPMB presents their design concept on behalf of the Foundry Friends. honestly, the mere fact that one of the most reputable architecture offices in Canada is doing charity work to help a local grassroots organization save some buildings in the name of democracy is heartwarming...View attachment 301689View attachment 301690View attachment 301691View attachment 301692
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This is absolutely incredible architecture work. Stunning. YIMBY (Literally, since I look over this site).

This is what having a vision looks like. Kudos to KPMB for executing on this vision quickly. I would love for a developer like Dream/Kilmer (Who is responsible for many other buildings in the area) to publicly say they would work with the province and KPMB to build this.
 
This is very well done. The mid-block connections are great and the scale seems appropriate. My only two nit picks would be that, with the ample public space in the immediate area, I don't see the need for that corner plaza. And I bet there is a way to better animate the blank facade of the smaller foundry building.
 
Ward8 said:
This is very well done. The mid-block connections are great and the scale seems appropriate. My only two nit picks would be that, with the ample public space in the immediate area, I don't see the need for that corner plaza. And I bet there is a way to better animate the blank facade of the smaller foundry building.
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The smaller foundry building looks like it used to have windows on the north and west side (that are bricked over), as well as a doorway on the west side. If those were restored, even partially, it might go some way to better animation.
 
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