Does the Westbank development proposal fi t?

By Donna MacFarlane

from Palmerston ResidentsArea, , Seaton Village and Annex Residents Associations invested hundreds of hours participating in the Bathurst Street Study, the Bloor Corridor Visioning Study, and the Four Corners Study. These studies and their result- ing bylaws, along with the O cial Plan of the City of , provide the planning frame- work by which Westbank’s proposal to develop Mirvish Village is and will be evaluated.

The basic planning question is: Does it t? Zoning Bylaw 569-2013: • Designates the Mirvish site as commercial/ residential with a maximum building height of 16 metres transitioning to 14 and 11 me- ters. At its highest point, the new construc- tion in Westbank’s proposal is 92.47 meters; at its lowest 24.63 meters. The pros and cons of redeveloping an established neighbourhood. The City of Toronto’s Avenues Will Westbank’s proposal revitalize a historical and vibrant part of the city or do more harm than good? & Mid-Rise Building Study: • Building heights should allow for a mini- mum of 5 hours of sunlight on the sidewalks. 80% of the width of the “avenue,” in this is Westbank contributing open space? The shadow study provided by Westbank case, . Westbank is proposing • New developments at gateway sites — such shows that from March to September Bloor more than 4 times the width of Bloor Street as where historic Mirvish Village begins at and Bathurst Streets will be in almost com- with no setbacks. Bloor and Markham Streets — can shape the plete shadow. image and character of an area. Developers • Recommends mid-rise built form with Bloor Corridor Visioning Study have a civic obligation to ensure that the height lowering at a 45 degree angle to- • Recommends new development should in- highest possible standards in design and wards the ground level of neighbouring resi- corporate low-rise podiums to maintain the material quality are met. Westbank is pro- dential buildings, allowing for a clear sight existing character of the area at street level. posing to put an arching glass ceiling over line to the sky. On Lennox Street, Palmerston It should be harmonious with the context of Markham Street to mark the entrance to their Blvd, and Bathurst Street does Westbank’s the neighbouring buildings and respect the residential towers, giving it the impression of proposed transition  t? scale of the adjacent streets. Westbank pro- a private street. Is that a good  t? poses double height retail spaces at street City of Toronto Tall Building Guidelines: level (such as one sees on be- Four Corners Study Vision • The height of the base of the building tween University and Spadina, much higher & Heritage Department of City Planning: should be aligned with the scale of the than any currently in the neighbourhood). • Recommends maintaining the character, neighbouring streetwall. On Bloor the cur- • Encourages the contribution of publicly ac- scale and format of existing buildings of rent street wall height is 4 storeys. West- cessible open space on the ground for each Mirvish Village. Recently 35 buildings were bank is proposing 29 storeys, straight up signi cant new development. Westbank listed as Heritage on the site. Westbank pro- from the sidewalk, without setbacks. is proposing roof top gardens accessible poses demolishing more than half of them. • The height of the base of the building be- only to their tenants. The city already owns On the east side of Markham Street a large fore the  rst setback cannot be more than Markham Street and its sidewalks so where block will cantilever over the historic hous- continued on page 2

P age 1 FALL • 2015 Does the Westbank development proposal fi t? continued from page 1

es. Does the Westbank proposal preserve heritage in a  tting way? • Requires transitioning development down- wards in scale toward the low-rise housing of the neighbourhood. Westbank is propos- ing a streetwall on Lennox Street of about 9 storeys, higher than the tower on the old Bathurst Street United Church. The houses south of Lennox are 2 ½ storeys.

The O cial Plan: • Requires 1,900 square meters of ground-lev- el park space. Westbank is proposing none. Where can it  t? Do you think the Westbank proposal  ts into our neighbourhood and the policies we have helped to shape? These and other planning concerns have been raised with Westbank by City Planning and the Mirvish Village Task Group. Westbank will be producing a revised proposal, proba- bly early in the new year, at which point there will be another public consultation. Write to the community planner in charge of this  le, Graig Uens ([email protected]) and Councillor (councilor_lay- Three examples of existing neighbourhood [email protected]) to let them know. development guidelines are pictured here. For detailed and constantly updated infor- The Planning Department’s portal to all info mation please see: www.toronto.ca/planning/ on the Mirvish Village development proposal mirvishvillage can be found at: www.toronto.ca/planning/ The Mirvish Village Task Group (represent- mirvishvillage. Below: Westbak rendering and exisiting buildings in Mirvish Village as well as ing the four Residents’ Associations) is devel- on Bathurst St. that will be impacted by the oping a website to post their continuing analy- redevelopement. sis and presentations related to the Westbank proposal. Go the PARA website for the link.

FALL • 2015 P age 2 WWW.PALMERSTONARA.ORG