TheBulletin.ca Journal of Downtown Toronto
Parking variances approved by WDL committee
By Anthony Marcusa –
A curious geological situation will make for an interesting set of residences popping up in the West Don Lands.
Four lots where King St. meets Queen are the future site of a group of residences—totaling 900 units—that will be built carefully on the flood protection landform (FPL) that prohibits anything from being built below ground.
In a recent meeting of the West Don Lands committee, urban developer David Wex of the Urban Capital Property Group talked about the continuing difficulties of creating a group of buildings in the unique area.
“Because this site is being built on the FPL, we cannot go below grade at all,” he explained. “It’s been a technically challenging project, one that requires us to develop something that has a nice street presence as well.”
Four different structures will be built, with two constructed as part of the first phase. One will be a tower, while the other will be a smaller building connected with an overpass.
In a largely technical presentation, Wex requested numerous minor variances to the plans for the four buildings, ranging from raising the height of the building by 1.3 meters, to changing the number of available parking spaces.
Because nothing can be built below ground, general storage, bicycle storage, and parking have become a problem. The proposed plan has a parking garage situated between the buildings, but cleverly hidden—surrounded with residential units and covered with a green landscape, a deck and large pool.
The first level is also a point of interest, with one of the variances requesting a partial mezzanine floor to be included. With technical and structural components forced to the first floor, initially there was almost no lobby due to limited space.
“We are planning a glassy floor with a lobby, with every part of the building on a different grade, mimicking the FPL,” Wex said. “We want a green entrance flowing through the space with amenities, and detailed working relating the building to the street.”
Another problem that has arisen is due to the fact that the city regards the four buildings as separate entities instead of a united development. Due to space, not every individual building will have the required number of parking and bike spaces available, while the development as a whole meet the standard, with all four distinct buildings sharing space and amenities.
The variance requests were well-received by the dozens of attending members of the WDLC; previous requests were also approved.
To the south of the planned development, construction has begun on the first park in the West Don Lands. Don River Park is scheduled to be completed by late 2011 or early 2012.
