Toronto Yonge Sheppard Centre Renovations and Expansion | 123.13m | 35s | RioCan | BDP Quadrangle

Edward said:
Really?
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Yeah, its definilty not. This area has nothing on Yonge and Eglinton either. One is an established neighbourhood with some beautiful housing stock from multiple interesting eras, has some beautiful residential streets with ravine areas especially around Lytton Park, much better retail both in terms of standard retail and restaurants. The parks are nicer and more diverse in nature with gardens and Sherwood is a gem. The area is very walkable and bikeable compared to NYCC. There is no highway dividing it from the rest of the city. In terms of food, aside from Owl of Minerva, which does have awesome porkbone but started in other locations first, what is there that is really good food wise? The sushi sucks around here, the thai food also sucks around here, the pho is average, the italian is below average, I never tried that French place between Sheppard and Finch in that little old cottage, and I heard it actually is good, but overall the food quality is seriously lacking considering the fairly affluent nature of the area. It may get up to Yonge and Egg level soon, but its not there yet. The retail around Yonge and Egg also changes constantly, in a good way, with new unique start-ups that are really specialized. Haven't seen that happen when I worked at NYCC. The one positive I will say is I really like the library at NYCC in city hall, as well as the square is great there, both were done well, and I also think the Dim Sum at Finch isn't too bad in that newish building on Finch going west a bit from Yonge.
 
MikeOlivo-Moore said:
Yeah, its definilty not. This area has nothing on Yonge and Eglinton either. One is an established neighbourhood with some beautiful housing stock from multiple interesting eras, has some beautiful residential streets with ravine areas especially around Lytton Park, much better retail both in terms of standard retail and restaurants. The parks are nicer and more diverse in nature with gardens and Sherwood is a gem.
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I like Y/E, but I would argue NYC has a fair offering in those areas, too. One of the things I really like are the ring roads of Doris and Beecroft. Both are fairly quiet and bordered by residential houses, yet only steps away from Yonge. When the pedestrian crowd gets too intense, or the mood strikes, you can always duck over one block and have a peaceful, tree-lined walk with lots of parkettes and chirping birds.

MikeOlivo-Moore said:
The area is very walkable and bikeable compared to NYCC.
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My area of NYC (near Mel Lastman/Empress) scores a perfect 100 for walkability, but yes, biking only scores 51. And I wish there was better pub offerings. Smokey Joe's is closed for renovations, but each time I walked by there I thought I was going to get knifed in the gut (exaggeration, but it looked like a rough crowd).

MikeOlivo-Moore said:
There is no highway dividing it from the rest of the city.
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Depends on perspective. I see the highway as an artery that connects us to almost everywhere else in the GTA within 20 mins or less.

MikeOlivo-Moore said:
The one positive I will say is I really like the library at NYCC in city hall, as well as the square is great there, both were done well...
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The Library is HUGE for me. I like having a 6-floor central library within easy walking distance. The Square in winter, with the skaters and the trees lit up, looks really nice and serene during winter walks. Also, the Cineplex and Loblaws at Empress are much more important to me than boutique retail or sushi, but I get your point. We still have a long way to go, agreed, but I do think there are strides being made forward. Many areas around the city that were traditionally rundown or less appealing are picking up, and I think NYC is one to keep an eye on.
 
Local councillor John Filion wants to expand bike network in Willowdale,....
- bike path along Finch hydro corridor opened last year (west of Yonge,... still waiting for east of Yonge!)
- now talking about bike lanes on Doris & Becroff

One of the toughest challenges is for bikes going south on Yonge by dangerous 401 interchange then down to bottom of valley at Yonge & YorkMills-Wilson,.... there's a proposal for off-road multi-use trail in this area similar to Beltline Trail in midtown near Yonge & Eglinton Area,... this off-road multi-use trail would also have option to avoid the bottom of the valley,... connect Willowdale to midtown south of 401 (midtown bike network and BeltLine Trail), St.Andrews neighbourhood (SunnyBrooke Park and DonValley trails) and EarlBales park,.... a lovely urban ravine park with huge potential (could be like HighPark or dare I say CentralPark in NYC) but lacking in sufficient access points.
 
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Definitely NOT bike lanes,.... the bike lanes along Doris and Beecroft is in discussion stage with city,... city holding community consultation on them likely in October,... and trust me, these things take a long time for anything to happen. The bike path through Finch Hydro corridor took 16 years!,... and its not even finished yet.
 
NorthYorkEd said:
Depends on perspective. I see the highway as an artery that connects us to almost everywhere else in the GTA within 20 mins or less.
The Library is HUGE for me. I like having a 6-floor central library within easy walking distance. The Square in winter, with the skaters and the trees lit up, looks really nice and serene during winter walks. Also, the Cineplex and Loblaws at Empress are much more important to me than boutique retail or sushi, but I get your point. We still have a long way to go, agreed, but I do think there are strides being made forward. Many areas around the city that were traditionally rundown or less appealing are picking up, and I think NYC is one to keep an eye on.
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Agree about the library, I always liked Northern district near Y and E also but it may need some updating for sure. And the outdoor rink is definitly a big positive.

Totally OT, but in terms of the 401, is it really 20 mins to anywhere? I usually find its quite slow, and the DVP to downtown even slower a lot of the time. Have officials considered a bike route that could go from the west side of yonge down in to the don valley, under the 401 bridge and continue along the ravine area all the way to Edwards gardens, thus connecting to the downtown paths? Or is there already this connection? While it may take a little longer than driving sometimes, it might actually be faster during rush hour. Just a thought, although I bet the TTC is still the fastest option to downtown from here.
 
Edward said:
Really?
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North York Centre is one of Toronto's most interesting neighbourhoods. It's a rare modern addition to our pantheon of great neighbourhoods that includes the likes of the Annex and St. Lawrence. Yonge Street bustles like many a downtown street, but it's wide like a street in Manhattan. It has a notable diversity of businesses including cinemas and many independent restaurants. The neighbourhood has an excellent public square--Mel Lastman Square--with festivals in the summer. Public squares are rare in any Toronto neighbourhood. This one is at the heart of the neighbourhood.

The Toronto Centre for the Arts is one of the city's more prominent performing arts venues. North York Central Library is second only to the Toronto Reference Library--but you can actually borrow its materials. It's served by two rapid transit lines and the most important highway in the country. Even though there aren't that many bike lanes, you could cycle comfortably on most of its streets except for Sheppard East and Yonge right at the 401. The side streets are mostly laid out in a grid for easier navigation on foot. Many of its postmodern landmarks are lavishly finished with polished granite atriums. It's definitely interesting to be in a neighbourhood that feels like downtown Toronto when you're in the middle of suburbia and almost in the 905.
 
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Y/E has that more "true" urban feel. NYC has that more quiet urban feel that has excellent highway access.

NYC is gradually (Yet, slowly) improving in terms of what the commercial area has to offer.
There's a 24 Hour Shoppers at Finch, which i Frequent often. New 2 storey + rooftop patio, Jack Astors which is PACKED Every weekend.

There's actually quite a lot of Office space in NYC but if it had more, the area would be much busier and feel a little more "True Urban"

Willowdale offers the Yonge St lifestyle with a mix of condos, townhomes and single family detached homes (With a lot being redeveloped to large homes).

I'm quite fond of all of North York/North Midtown (Bathurst-404/Steeles-Eglinton) - anywhere here offers all types of housing types, lifestyles, work, parks and easy access to downtown or 905.
 
Preliminary Report - Official Plan Amendment, Zoning By-law Amendment and Rental Housing Demolition Applications - 2 and 50 Sheppard Avenue East, 4841 to 4881 Yonge Street and 2 to 6 Forest Laneway
http://app.toronto.ca/tmmis/viewAgendaItemHistory.do?item=2013.NY28.27

Summary
These applications are on the site of the Sheppard Centre at the northeast corner of Yonge Street and Sheppard Avenue. The lands are the entire city block bounded by Yonge Street, Sheppard Avenue East, Greenfield Avenue and Doris Avenue. The proposed development is a 39 storey and 343 unit residential apartment building located mid-block on the Greenfield Avenue frontage, additional retail commercial uses with improved connections to both the Yonge Street and Sheppard Avenue frontages, and the demolition and replacement of 25 existing residential rental units in a new 8 storey building located mid-block on the Sheppard Avenue East frontage

Staff report
http://www.toronto.ca/legdocs/mmis/2013/ny/bgrd/backgroundfile-63245.pdf
 
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