Thanks for that! That ugly spud certainly won't be missed if it's redeveloped.
42
Toronto Yonge Eglinton Centre | ?m | 37s | RioCan | P + S / IBI
- Thread starter Petra
- Start date
Thanks for that! That ugly spud certainly won't be missed if it's redeveloped.
42
Mike in TO
Senior Member
Wait a minutedid they just not put a 40 storey cap for that area.
The City of Toronto is planning to impose a 40s cap on any real estate transactions BuildToronto enters with the private sector on the TTC owned lands to the south of the property that is being discussed in this thread.
bigcityboy
New Member
RioCan has built a publicly accessible showing room for their proposed expansion across from the Metro on the ground floor concourse of the mall. In the middle of the room is a huge model of the buildings with their increased height and new greenish-blue glass cladding and the retail expansion (which still leaves a bit of a public square along Yonge St). The walls are covered with artist renderings of different views of the expansion. When I went in, there was nobody in there. RioCan is leaving the room unattended and just allowing the public to come through anytime they want. Likely part of their public consultation requirement.
Redroom Studios
Senior Member
alright, somebody needs to get pics of this then... dont make me drive all the way from Niagara Falls!
deerparker
Active Member
Community Meeting for this proposal on Tue 2 Feb at 7.00p, 200 Eglinton Ave West.
Automation Gallery
Superstar
Yeah... before the neighbourhood goes up in arms, the city has to better clarify 40 storeys in meters/feet..we all know that residential and commercial heights vary, truthfully in todays world you can build a 200 meter 40 storey structure.
maestro
Senior Member
Or, it isn't necessarily about height. (Or, they figured no one is going to propose a 40 storey commercial tower at Y&E)
Did anyone from UT attend this meeting? Has no-one yet snapped pics from this room? Anyone know if it has remained open since the community meeting?
42
Solaris
Senior Member
Novae Res Urbis
Architect = P+S/IBI
***********
YONGE-EG CENTRE
Revamp sparks debate
February 5, 2010
A rendering of RioCan’s additions to the Yonge-Eglinton Centre, designed by Page + Steele Architects/IBI Group.
Courtesy of Page + Steele Architects/IBI Group
A contentious proposal to redevelop a portion of the Yonge-Eglinton Centre has sparked lengthy discussions among the developer, the city and local councilor and residents.
RioCan REIT wants to add several floors to the towers that sit on the northwest corner of Yonge Street and Eglinton Avenue, but the main source of controversy is a plan to build a three-storey addition to the centre on what is now an open square.
“The community has a position on it that it’s public open space that should remain open,†Councillor Karen
Stintz told NRU. “We’re working through the community concerns right now.â€
Though the area functions as a public square, it is privately owned by RioCan as part of the Yonge-Eglinton Centre. The proposed addition would house new retail space.
RioCan submitted a rezoning application almost a year ago to permit the five-storey addition to the 22-storey tower and the seven-storey addition to the 30-storey tower, as well as develop the new retail space.
“Some people think it’s city-owned land. It’s not and it’s hardly ever used,†RioCan president and CEO Ed
Sonshine told NRU. “We think we can actually make the entire development much nicer by redeveloping it. It’s going to bring a whole bunch of life to the corner where right now it’s just a bit of a wasteland. I think it’s going to improve it for everybody.â€
“There is a civic role that the space plays,†said city planner Christian Ventresca, though he stressed that it is privately owned, likening it to similar sites around the city such as TD Centre. “A lot of the downtown office buildings have courtyards that people use. This has been part of the design for 40 years and people have gotten used to it.â€
As part of the initial proposal a green roof was included on top of the retail addition. However, after discussions with the city and surrounding community RioCan is now proposing a garden on the roof of the addition with access from both the mall and the street. Sonshine characterized the space as a “green oasis†that would include trees, shrubs and benches. Plans have been designed to reduce the amount of wind across the site.
Sonshine also pointed to the disused former TTC bus barns on the south side of Eglinton, currently owned by Build Toronto, as a possible location for new publicly owned open space.
“The community has been very vocal in its perspective that public space is required,†said Stintz. “Part of the challenge is making sure [the roof garden is] accessible to the community in a space that actually works.â€
Additionally, the planning and growth management committee will consider a motion, referred by city council and put forward by Councillor Michael Walker, to initiate an urban design study for the Yonge-Eglinton area. The motion notes that though a focused review of the area was conducted and intensification policies were adopted for all four quadrants of the area, the urban design guidelines adopted by council only apply to the southwest quadrant. The goal of the study would be to develop urban design
guidelines for the rest of the area, including around the Yonge-Eglinton Centre. Stintz seconded the motion at council’s meeting last week.
Architect = P+S/IBI
***********
YONGE-EG CENTRE
Revamp sparks debate
February 5, 2010
A rendering of RioCan’s additions to the Yonge-Eglinton Centre, designed by Page + Steele Architects/IBI Group.
Courtesy of Page + Steele Architects/IBI Group
A contentious proposal to redevelop a portion of the Yonge-Eglinton Centre has sparked lengthy discussions among the developer, the city and local councilor and residents.
RioCan REIT wants to add several floors to the towers that sit on the northwest corner of Yonge Street and Eglinton Avenue, but the main source of controversy is a plan to build a three-storey addition to the centre on what is now an open square.
“The community has a position on it that it’s public open space that should remain open,†Councillor Karen
Stintz told NRU. “We’re working through the community concerns right now.â€
Though the area functions as a public square, it is privately owned by RioCan as part of the Yonge-Eglinton Centre. The proposed addition would house new retail space.
RioCan submitted a rezoning application almost a year ago to permit the five-storey addition to the 22-storey tower and the seven-storey addition to the 30-storey tower, as well as develop the new retail space.
“Some people think it’s city-owned land. It’s not and it’s hardly ever used,†RioCan president and CEO Ed
Sonshine told NRU. “We think we can actually make the entire development much nicer by redeveloping it. It’s going to bring a whole bunch of life to the corner where right now it’s just a bit of a wasteland. I think it’s going to improve it for everybody.â€
“There is a civic role that the space plays,†said city planner Christian Ventresca, though he stressed that it is privately owned, likening it to similar sites around the city such as TD Centre. “A lot of the downtown office buildings have courtyards that people use. This has been part of the design for 40 years and people have gotten used to it.â€
As part of the initial proposal a green roof was included on top of the retail addition. However, after discussions with the city and surrounding community RioCan is now proposing a garden on the roof of the addition with access from both the mall and the street. Sonshine characterized the space as a “green oasis†that would include trees, shrubs and benches. Plans have been designed to reduce the amount of wind across the site.
Sonshine also pointed to the disused former TTC bus barns on the south side of Eglinton, currently owned by Build Toronto, as a possible location for new publicly owned open space.
“The community has been very vocal in its perspective that public space is required,†said Stintz. “Part of the challenge is making sure [the roof garden is] accessible to the community in a space that actually works.â€
Additionally, the planning and growth management committee will consider a motion, referred by city council and put forward by Councillor Michael Walker, to initiate an urban design study for the Yonge-Eglinton area. The motion notes that though a focused review of the area was conducted and intensification policies were adopted for all four quadrants of the area, the urban design guidelines adopted by council only apply to the southwest quadrant. The goal of the study would be to develop urban design
guidelines for the rest of the area, including around the Yonge-Eglinton Centre. Stintz seconded the motion at council’s meeting last week.
yyzer
Senior Member
not bad!
Mo-tage
Active Member
Somebody should give Councillor Karen Stintz a kick in the butt. Right now this square is a concrete wasteland with hardly any seating and I can't recall seeing anybody put it to any real use. I would think 99% of that community would love a more useful shopping mall on that corner and would love to get rid of what is currently a terrible eyesore. My parents live in that neighbourhood and use that mall all the time, they're very excited at the potential for improvements.
taal
Senior Member
1000% agreed, it's a very large square and it barley used ... the part that sees most of the traffic is on the corner and that's remaining.
Anyone know what the timeframe of this project would be?
Anyone know what the timeframe of this project would be?
waterloowarrior
Senior Member
Nice fix-up... wish I could afford NRU. Anyone know of a student subscription or arrangement through Waterloo?
urbandreamer
recession proof
So basically, they're recladding the thing and adding a few floors. Looks good--and I think we'll see more of these proposals to re-clad concrete slab towers--like the HBC building at Y&B, perhaps?
alklay
Senior Member
The HBC just went through a retro-fix and they put in new windows.