Will new courthouse detract from city hall?

Dennis Hanagan–

City council will be asked to approve a zoning bylaw amendment to pave the way for a new Toronto Courthouse just northwest of city hall. At a maximum height of 135 metres the building would have courtrooms, an ancillary office and a café. It will consolidate “a number” of Toronto courthouse facilities, says city planning. TEYCC Councillor Janet Davis worried the building’s height would take away from the prominent look of city hall’s two towers. City hall’s tallest tower, the east one, is 99 metres or 27 floors. The site is borders Armoury and Chestnut Streets and Centre Ave. A minimum of 100 private parking spaces would be located underground. In December, Toronto’s Design Review Panel of heritage and architect experts noted the site is the last vacant development site in the civic precinct so it should be “a leader of the highest quality architecture, public realm and sustainability design.” Centre Avenue was once part of Toronto’s first immigrant settlement called St. John’s Ward, founded partly by Toronto’s early black community, says an Infrastructure Ontario website. “Many families of Irish, Italian, Chinese and Russian-Jewish descent also settled on this block up until the mid-20th century.”