TheBulletin.ca Journal of Downtown Toronto
Dennis Hanagan —
Two public meetings are planned for February to hear what the community has to say about controversial developments planned for Spadina at College and another for King West across from Metro Hall.
A public forum is set for mid-February about three irregularly-shaped towers proposed to replace heritage buildings along King St. W. in the Entertainment District.
The towers, proposed by entrepreneur David Mirvish and aging architect Frank Gehry, range from 82 to 86 storeys. The forum takes place Feb. 18 at City Hall’s committee room 1 from 6 to 9 p.m.
City planners aren’t happy with the proposal calling it “out of scale with the existing and planned context of the area.”
A working group has been set up at Trinity-Spadina councillor Adam Vaughan’s request to review “alternate approaches” for the site. Its findings will be reported to city council on March 20.
At least one more public meeting will be held to get community feedback on the working group’s findings.
A second meeting will focus on the equally contentious proposal to redevelop the site of the 113-year-old Waverley Hotel at 484 Spadina Ave.
A proposal by the Wynn Group of Companies for 484 Spadina would demolish the Waverley Hotel (built in 1900) and the Silver Dollar (added to the Waverley in 1958) and replace it with a 22-storey building to include privately-owned and operated student housing. The first two storeys would be for retail and commercial uses.
The plan calls for 202 residential units, three levels of underground parking for 70 vehicles, and 214 bicycle spaces.
City planning staff told community council in January the proposal is “not supportable.” Staff added it doesn’t promote “a harmonious fit” with the existing neighbourhood.
Speaking for Wynn, the law firm of Davies Howe Partners contested that the staff report “does not provide a sound planning rationale to … oppose the application in its current form.”
Regarding staff’s objection to the height of the proposed development, the firm says there are numerous examples throughout Downtown where tall buildings “appropriately co-exist” with lower-scale buildings.
Staff noted the applicant is appealing to the Ontario Municipal Board and a pre-hearing is scheduled for March 25. Community council authorized staff to attend the hearing and oppose the plan as it stands.
However, council also told staff to continue discussions with the applicant about reducing the building’s height and to get public benefits under Section 37 of the Planning Act in return for any height and density that is still excessive.
The proposal’s density is about 10 times the lot area, staff says.
Vaughan, whose ward includes the development site, said a public meeting will be held Feb. 11 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. in the basement at the Lillian H. Smith Library on College at Huron St.
The meeting agenda will also include a request for public feedback about future development on College St. between University Ave. and Bathurst St.
Vaughan asked planning staff in February 2012 to conduct a study for the University-Bathurst stretch to determine what would be appropriate building heights and streetscape improvements.
According to Vaughan there is “increased development interest” in this stretch and he wants planning policies in place so future developers will know the rules.
