NRU offices are closed for holidays next week, August 6-10. The next Toronto issue will be published Friday, August 17. FRIDAY, AUGUST 3, 2018 Vol. 22 No. 31 TACKLING TORONTO HOUSING BOLD IDEAS NEEDED Rachael Williams uilding affordable market live in the city,” said Ryerson city’s former chief planner And I think at the very housing in the City of City Building Institute Jennifer Keesmaat. least she can create some B Toronto will be one of the executive director Cherise Outspoken on the pressure for John Tory to most pressing issues for the Burda. “I think this is a call affordable housing file, CONTINUED PAGE 6 new council to tackle after the to decision-makers and those Keesmaat announced her There are 1,471 proposed resi- October 22 municipal election. running for mayor that we candidacy on July 27, just dential developments scattered But the way to provide a need really bold new ideas.” minutes before nominations across the in the City of Toronto, greater diversity of housing There are 24 candidates closed. many of which are for projects that contain at least 2,000 units. and ensure residents of running for mayor of “I think that Jennifer is These projects account for a total varying income levels have an Toronto, including current somebody who can stand up of 376,460 residential units. opportunity to live and work mayor John Tory and the and champion bold ideas. SOURCE: CITY OF TORONTO in Toronto has been one of the most polarizing debates in the city. The battle cry from developers is that municipal and provincial governments need to cut red tape to allow residential units to come to market faster, while other housing advocates say the problem lies in the financing model, which prioritizes investors as opposed to the end user. “We haven’t really seen this in the past, but affordable housing has now become about housing affordability for everybody and we now have a crisis where regular middle- income people can’t afford to UofT INNOVATION CENTRE UPCOMING AUGUST 13 TCHC Design Review Panel, 3:00 p.m., 180 Sackville Street SPACE FOR START-UPS 20 Council (Special meeting) 9:30 a.m., council chamber SEPTEMBER 13 Design Review Panel, time TBC, Rob Jowett committee room 3 14 Close of nominations (new he University of Toronto Street, across the road from connecting the two. deadline for Toronto councillor has unveiled its plans the MaRS Discovery District, “[The complex] is to candidates) T for the 14-storey, 23,000 which has reached capacity. address significant space 26 Waterfront Toronto Design Review Panel, 8:30 a.m., 20 Bay square metre building that will Designed by Weiss/Manfredi demands we have here at the Street, Suite 1310 be the first phase of its new and Teeple Architects the University of Toronto for OCTOBER innovation centre, a purpose complex will comprise a two start-up space for… student/ 4 Design Review Panel, time TBC, built space for student and tower, 75,000 sq. m. building. faculty-initiated companies,” committee room 2 faculty start-ups. The first phase is the 14-storey says university operations 12 TCHC Design Review Panel, 3:00 p.m., 180 Sackville Street The Partnerships western tower, which is vice-president Scott Mabury. in Innovation and anticipated to be built by 2021. “The university of Toronto 22 Municipal elections Entrepreneurship Complex The second phase includes the inventions are owned by 24 Waterfront Toronto Design Review Panel, 8:30 a.m., 20 Bay will be located at 112 College eastern tower with a building whoever invents and makes Street, Suite 1310 the discoveries, so often NOVEMBER students and faculty share 1 Design Review Panel, time TBC, that, and so often companies committee room 2 are started by faculty and 21 Waterfront Toronto Design Review Panel, 8:30 a.m., 20 Bay students. So we need space for Street, Suite 1310 t h o s e .” 22 Design Review Panel, time TBC, The complex is being committee room 2 purpose-built and will DECEMBER incorporate design elements 4 Council inaugural meeting to support innovation, he says. (2018-2022 term) He adds that while most of 6 Community Councils (urgent business only), 9:30 a.m., the focus has been on creating various locations 7 Executive Committee, time and CONTINUED PAGE 7 location TBC 12 Waterfront Toronto Design Review Panel, 8:30 a.m., 20 Bay Street, Suite 1310 Renderings of the University of Toronto’s Innovation Centre at 112 College Street. Designers envision an open, collaborative space for new student and faculty start-ups. SOURCE: UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO ARCHITECT: WEISS/MANFREDI AND TEEPLE ARCHITECTS NRU PUBLISHING STAFF NRU PUBLISHING INC Ian A.R. Graham, Publisher Rob Jowett Jeff Payette SALES/SUBSCRIPTIONS Novæ Res Urbis Toronto Editorial Office Billings Department [email protected] Reporter Design/Layout [email protected] is published 50 times a 26 Soho Street, Suite 330 NRU Publishing Inc. [email protected] [email protected] year and is not to be Toronto, ON M5T 1Z7 PO Box 19595 Manulife PO, Lynn Morrow, Editor Annual subscription rate is redistributed without the Tel: 416.260.1304 Toronto, ON M4W 3T9 [email protected] Peter Pantalone Irena Kohn $389 +HST (ON). written consent of the Fax: 416.979.2707 Planning Researcher Sales and Circulation publisher. ISSN 1918-7548 Rachael Williams Complimentary trial [email protected] [email protected] Reporter subscriptions are available. [email protected] Advertising rates available upon request. FRIDAY, AUGUST 3, 2018 NOVÆ RES URBIS TORONTO 2 PARKLAND ACQUISITION QUESTIONING INVESTMENT Rachael Williams n dire need of more depending on the geographical to a 2017 staff report, city-wide throughout the city. parkland to accommodate size of the property. average residential densities Zonena said staff will I an influx of residents in The alternative rate is have increased by 205 per cent be reporting on an updated the core, the City of Toronto over 10 years old and has not since 2005, which is placing alternative parkland rate in is set to increase its alternative kept pace with development increased pressure on the need 2019. parkland dedication rates. intensity in the city. According to provide more greenspace BILD president and CEO Toronto senior planner David Wilkes told NRU the Annely Zonena said the city development community is is eager to acquire parkland supportive of the need to build through the private sector to more parks in Toronto, but is support growth and meet the skeptical of where the money is expectations set by the province being invested. with respect to conformity with According to an April the Growth Plan. 2017 staff report, the city “Downtown residents have collected $482,930,013 cash- among the lowest rates of in-lieu of parkland payments parkland per person in the city,” from 225,208 residential units said Toronto senior planner and industrial development. Annely Zonena. “In the However, the city held over downtown, there are 5.5 square metres of parkland per person, CONTINUED PAGE 5 which is 80 per cent lower than the city-wide average of 28 The City of Toronto has parkland square metres.” acquisition priority areas that require land dedications or cash- Toronto’s parkland in-lieu payments based on an al- dedication policies are set out ternative parkland dedication rate. in the city’s official plan. The This rate requires 0.4 hectares of parkland dedication per 300 units, standard parkland requirement capped at 10 per cent of the area is 5 per cent of the site for for sites less than one hectare. residential development and SOURCE: CITY OF TORONTO 2 per cent of the site for non- residential development. As part of the city’s Downtown Secondary Plan, the city aims to However, if a development improve and enhance its parkland is located in one of the city’s and open space around the Down- parkland priority areas, an town through the use of parkland alternate rate applies. This rate dedications. This includes a num- ber of initiatives, which aim to is 0.4 ha per 300 units, capped re-image the city’s valleys, bluffs at anywhere from 10 to 20 per and islands as an interconnected cent of the site or land value 900-hectare landscape system. SOURCE: CITY OF TORONTO FRIDAY, AUGUST 3, 2018 NOVÆ RES URBIS TORONTO 3 SAFER CYCLING NETWORK GROWING SUPPORT Rob Jowett afer cycling is only going cycling advocacy organization predictability and that kind of Liz Sutherland, say is behind to happen if the city steps Cycle Toronto and the David rationality… to the road.” schedule. S up implementation of its Suzuki Foundation. In addition to a reduction “We would like [the cycling 10-year cycling plan, and gets David Suzuki Foundation in traffic speed, there are many infrastructure in the 10-year serious about reducing speed transportation analyst Gideon elements needed for a safer plan] built by 2022, so that limits, building segregated bike Forman told NRU that the most cycling network. Overall, would be four years ahead of lanes, and connecting all of the important finding from the poll Forman says, it needs to be an schedule,” says Sutherland. “And existing bike lanes in the city, is that 75 per cent of drivers now integrated, protected system of we’d like to see it connecting all say advocates. support a safer cycling network. lanes. the wards in Toronto.” A poll by Ekos Research “I think that they see as Toronto council adopted Cycle Toronto has launched Associates released July 27 drivers the value in making the a 10-year cycling plan in June an election camp called found that 86 per cent of road more rational and more 2016 with the goal of building #BuildTheGrid to encourage Torontonians support a safer predictable,” he says.