TORONTO EDITION FRIDAY, APRIL 12, 2013 Vol. 17 • No. 15 Tall building design guidelines update Convention venue needed downtown GROWING UP GETTING By Jake Tobin Garrett COMPETITIVE Anyone watching the city’s skyline over the past 10 years By John Michael McGrath would have noticed it has gotten both increasingly crowded and taller. Th is bourgeoning tall building environment brings new design challenges and opportunities that the city hopes Toronto needs a new, large, convention space according to to address in an update to its tall building design guidelines, respected people in the industry—and it needs one downtown, which were adopted at planning and growth management not at Exhibition Place. committee yesterday. Toronto “absolutely” needs a newer, larger convention “It’s been an incredible laboratory for studying tall buildings space says Lyle Hall, managing director at HLT Advisory— because we’re building more tall buildings than most cities in “unequivocally.” Hall is one of the leading consultants in the the world,” city urban design director Robert Freedman told hotel and tourism industry, and his research informed city NRU. “Th ere’s been a huge amount of change and certainly a manager Joe Pennachetti’s recent report. Th e key issue, says huge number of towers added to the city as these guidelines Hall, is Toronto’s lack of “contiguous space,” meaning a single have evolved.” large exhibit space for the large events that have the greatest Since the guidelines were put in place in 2006, the city has economic impact. received 290 tall building applications, he said, adding that “It’s virtually impossible to rent the Metro Toronto many of those were for multiple towers, so the actual number Convention Centre to one customer to use both sides,” is larger. Hall told NRU this week. While the MTCC has a favorable “Tall buildings have civic obligations,” chief planner downtown location and a large volume of exhibition space, Jennifer Keesmaat told committee members. Th e guidelines the fact that it was constructed in two halves, with the south are meant to ensure more and better open spaces and wider building being added in the 1990s, makes it unattractive for sidewalks to create a stronger public realm. the largest events. Both the tall building environment and the guidelines On Monday Pennachetti released his long-awaited report have essentially evolved together, Freedman told NRU, with on the potential benefi ts of a casino in the City of Toronto. the guidelines revised as the city learns more about its tall One key element of his report is the assertion that Toronto is buildings. Th e update also consolidates two CONTINUED PAGE 3 > lagging behind other cities in North America CONTINUED PAGE 4 > INSIDE Economics Matters High Park high Come fl y with me On target ■ demographics ■ real estate markets New proposal brings Porter pitches new City exceeds CO2 ■ construction economics ■ expert testimony community concerns planes goals ■ planning impacts ■ forecasting > > > p 2 p 5 p 8 416-641-9500 1-877-953-9948 [email protected] altusgroup.com 2 CITY OF TORONTO EDITION FRIDAY, APRIL 12, 2013 UPCOMING High Park going higher? DATES COMMUNITY STIRRED UP APRIL 15 By Jake Tobin Garrett Executive Committee, 9:30 a.m., committee room 1 APRIL 17 Th e area on the north side of High Park Community Development and Recreation has been a hotbed of development activity Committee, 9:30 a.m., committee room 1 lately—many of it coming up against steep APRIL 22 Economic Development Committee, 9:30 opposition from residents as they grapple a.m., committee room 1 with the frequency of new proposals in a Parks and Environment Committee, 9:30 relatively small area. a.m., committee room 2 A recent proposal, Grenadier Square, APRIL 23 which proposes two 31-storey towers and Executive Committee, 9:30 a.m., committee room 1 the demolition of 16 rental townhouse units, APRIL 29 is already drawing concern from neigh- Board of Health, 1:00 p.m., committee room 1 bours. If built as proposed, the towers would MAY 1 be some of the tallest in the area. Budget Committee, 9:30 a.m., committee room 1 Ward councillor Sarah Doucette said MAY 2 she “defi nitely” feels an increasing pressure Toronto Preservation Board, 2:00 p.m., from residents because of the fl urry of committee room 2 development applications in the area. MAY 7-8 Council, 9:30 a.m., council chambers “Suddenly we are being inundated with development,” she told NRU. “Of course MAY 10 + STEELE/IBI ARCHITECTS IMAGE: PAGE Aboriginal Affairs Committee, 9:30 a.m., people are going to be concerned and of Proposed Grenadier Square redevelopment tower committee room 1 course people are going to be scared.” MAY 13 “Certainly we’re getting that impression Government Management Committee, “Th e thing that has happened with this 9:30 a.m., committee room 1 as well,” Etobicoke York district community development—which has not happened MAY 14 planning east section manager Lou with any others—is people have been Etobicoke York Community Council, 9:30 Moretto told NRU regarding a heightened a.m., Etobicoke Civic Centre worked up thinking that they’ve missed level of anxiety amongst residents. “Th e the chance to speak,” she said. North York Community Council, 9:30 a.m., North York Civic Centre area has been quiet for awhile and all of a In a March 28 letter to residents, Scarborough Community Council, 9:30 sudden there seems to be a lot of interest Doucette attempted to dispel some of this a.m., Scarborough Civic Centre in terms of development activity.” concern. However, she also noted her own Doucette said she’s been trying to get apprehension about the proposal. She told ahead of the game by working proactively NRU she thinks the towers could come to keep residents from panicking when down in height. CITY OF TORONTO EDITION they see that a development application Th e site, located at 51-77 Quebec Avenue has been fi led. and 40-66 High Park CONTINUED PAGE 6 > Ian A.R. Graham, Publisher John Michael McGrath SALES/SUBSCRIPTIONS NRU City of Toronto Edition NRU Publishing Inc. Billings Department [email protected] Municipal Affairs Reporter [email protected] is not to be redistributed Editorial Offi ce 46 Old Bridle Path [email protected] without the written consent 26 Soho Street, Suite 330 Toronto, ON M4T 1A7 Lynn Morrow, Editor Annual subscription rate is of the publisher. Toronto, ON M5T 1Z7 Tel: 416.440.0073 [email protected] Jeff Payette, Design/Layout $369 +HST (ON). Tel: 416.260.1304 Fax: 416.440.0074 [email protected] NRU City of Toronto Edition Fax: 416.979.2707 ISSN 1918-753X Jake Tobin Garrett Complimentary trial is published 50 times a Planning Reporter Irena Kohn subscriptions are available. year by email by NRU [email protected] Sales and Circulation [email protected] Publishing Inc. Advertising rates available Twitter @nrupublishing upon request. CITY OF TORONTO GREA TER TORONTO VANCOUVER 3 CITY OF TORONTO EDITION FRIDAY, APRIL 12, 2013 GROWING UP CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 previously existing guidelines—the citywide guidelines and in the update. the downtown-specifi c guidelines. Th e guidelines suggest looking at the setbacks fi rst “because Th at proliferation of tall buildings means the city is paying that gives you the adequate spacing between neighbouring more attention to the surrounding context. Based on feedback towers, whether existing or future, and then look at what kind from the city’s urban design review panel, Freedman said the of a fl oor plate—what sized tower—you can get,” he said. updated guidelines include requests for documents showing Some in the industry have expressed concern over how the the context of proposed tall building developments. guidelines have been applied throughout time, questioning Now the guidelines better address the cumulative eff ect of whether they are treated more as regulations. towers going into areas that are already rich with existing or Quadrangle Architects principal Les Klein said that, proposed tall buildings. Even though the application may be while the overall intent of the guidelines was good, their main for a single tower in these areas, it’s clearly important to know concern was in the application of the guidelines themselves. “what’s the cumulative eff ect in terms of shadowing, in terms “Our experience has been that the starting off position is of wind, in terms of sky view, privacy—all of those issues,” he that these are not guidelines, these are standards,” he told said. NRU. Urban design review panel vice-chair and Diamond Schmitt “When the intent of a guideline is to generally guide Architects principal Michael Leckman said the more that is direction of development, it implies an understanding that known about the surrounding context of a development— each site is unique in its context. When you apply guidelines both existing and proposed buildings—the better. as though they are rigid, absolute, minimum standards that “Being able to see [developments] only piecemeal will must be met in all sites, that actually negates the whole notion deliver, in large part, a lot of the environment we’re getting of guidelines.” right now. Which is rarely as well coordinated visually and He didn’t think that the updated guidelines addressed that socially and from a public realm point of view as it should be,” issue. “Th ey continue to be called guidelines, but there’s no he said. guarantee that that’s how they will be applied,” Klein said. Aside from just the sheer number of tall buildings going up Th is echoes a concern that the development industry had, in the city, one change in tall building design that the city has which was that sometimes city planners “treat [the guidelines] been dealing with lately is proposals for super tall buildings of as gospel,” Building Industry and Land Development up to 80-storeys.