2797-2803 Dundas St. W., Mc Brides Development overview

 

Here are some images and text captures  from the development proposal for the lot at 2797 Dundas Street West, and 2803 Dundas Street West, commonly referred to as the old Mc Brides bike building lot.

Thanks to Martin of the Junction Residents Association for sending the blog the PDF of the proposal and the meeting minutes from Wednesday night.

The lot is on the south west corner of Indian Road and Dundas St. West.

 

 

 

 

 

Gord Perks office minutes

Meeting Minutes:
Pre-Application Proposed Development
2797/2803 Dundas St. West – Community Information Meeting
Wednesday, October, 19, 2011
Indian Road Crescent Junior Public School, Gymnasium, 285 Indian Road Crescent
 

Hello,

 

I would like to thank everyone who attended last night’s community meeting regarding the proposed development at 2797/2803 Dundas St. West.  I would also like to thank the representatives from TAS Design Build, their project architect (Richard), and planning consultant (Anne) who came out and engaged with the community. Despite the rain and cold, there was a great turn out with approximately 45 residents sharing their knowledge and concerns.  Finally, thank you city planning staff in attendance and to the members West Bend Residents Association who took time out their meeting to attend this event.

 

For those of you who could not attend the meeting, Councillor Perks began the meeting by introducing the parties present and explaining the process for development applications.  This was followed by Anne (the planning consultant) and Rich (the project architect) providing a presentation outlining the proposed development. I have attached a .pdf of this presentation.

 

The Q&A period generated significant discussions and I will try to highlight -from my understanding- what was said regarding some of the major issues and concerns voiced by residents:

 

  • A question was raised regarding what types of units are being proposed, their cost, the general timeline, what material selection would be used to fit the neighbourhood and the maintenance of the site as it currently sits.  Mazyar from TAS Design Build outlined that the units will be priced on retail value (so no affordable home ownership programs or co-op untis), and the prices tend to fluctuate according to the market so it is too early to say.  Further, if all goes well he hopes to start marketing the units in roughly 6-9 months and start construction in 18-24 months.  With regards to site maintenance, Mazyar stated he took ownership of the site only 10 days ago, but will commit to maintaining the site, repairing the fence so it doesn’t fall down, and speak with councillor Perks’ office about possible uses before construction.
  • Numerous concerns were raised regarding the height of the proposed development, terracing, incursions on the angular plane, and privacy.  Anne stated that the development is identified as a soft site and spoke about the midrize guidelines.  The current planes outline a 6 story building with the 7th story being a mechanical penthouse wrapped in residential units (so depending on how you judge it, 6 or 7 storeys). Richard stated he understood residents concerns about privacy and will think about starting terracing on the 3rd story as opposed to the 4th.  Finally, Dan noted that the current plans do go over the angular plane and Anne remarked they wanted to do this for more space in the residential units.
  • There were concerns about site construction regarding noise, vibrations, pile driving, and pumping excess water.  Councillor Perks explained that once the proposal is further along a construction management plan will occur.  Anne stated that they will work with residents to minimize any disturbances that could occur and Mazyar explained that bore holes had been sunk on the property and that they do not anticipate any underground streams being a problem at this point.
  • Another of the major concerns raised by residents was regarding the laneway traffic.  Questions ranged from concerns about commercial traffic, speeding through the laneway, truck loading (both in regards to air quality and blocking traffic), traffic from the roughly 45 underground parking units proposed, snow removal, and the widening of the laneway.  Richard outlined that there will be a loading area designated beside the down ramp for parking (see page 16 of the .pdf), which should prevent the laneway being blocked.  He also explained that with the amount of underground parking spots, the traffic increase from the residents will be minimal.  Dan from planning staff spoke to the widening of the laneway, explaining that the city will widen the laneway on the new applicant’s property, but not on the resident’s side.  Further, even with the widening of the laneway, it will still be quite narrow so two-way traffic would not occur. Finally planning staff will look into if turning restrictions would be appropriate to keep traffic flowing and examine the impact of traffic on surrounding streets.
  • A question was raised regarding greenspace and residents praised the planters in place in the plans.  Councillor Perks explained about the green roof by-law in effect.  Further, Dan from city planning staff spoke about how it is his understanding that the site is not an area that is below the parkland dedication requirement so there will be no cash-in-lieu.

Overall, the meeting was very successful and many important insights were shared.  I will continue to keep sending you updates as I receive them regarding this proposed development.  Please feel free to share any information with your neighbours.

 

Once again, I would like to thank everyone who attended the meeting last evening.

7 Comments

Amazing. If they got rid of the "Furnished Room Rental" place at Dundas/Indian Grove then things would be perfect!

It looks great. All the concerns are valid. The height issue doesn't bother me at all (I live very close by) but I figured someone would be bothered by it.

The "furnished Room' rental, is that the place on Dundas and Indian Rd Cres? From living here for years, I know that 'hotel' and another rooming house on Annette and Indian Rd Cres are the big contributors/participators of the cycle of drug deals/violence/prostitution that exists on the block. Some of those working girls look so young and tragic.

Looks like crap! What makes anybody think the Junction needs more retail space especially east of Keele? As for affordable home ownership perhaps this developer needs to talk to the Options for Homes people about their Heintzman Place high rise to see if they can adopt any of that strategy. Market price medium rise in an unimaginative building might be a hard sell in that location.

I like the sleek facade with an unusual window pattern which looks quite dynamic. It's about time that The Junction, with its rich diversity of architectural styles (such as Gothic Revival, Beaux-Arts, Arts and Crafts, Art Deco, Modernism, and Postmodernism to name a few) get a building in the 21st century New Modernist style. The cladding material will be very important, though. Brick is appropriate for the area, though I wouldn't want to see the cliche black brick so common in New Modernist buildings. Natural stone could give the building an impressive presence like the old Bank of Toronto building on the northeast corner of Keele and Dundas.

Why more affordable housing? There's a lot of that in the area already. Let's have one at least market-price infill condominium in the area for diversity.

The business or retail space is obvious given the location of this building on a historic pedestrian-oriented main street with at least a century of history as a commercial centre for the area. I think the space is critical to keep improving pedestrian and commercial activity on Dundas east of Keele. Having the street filled with people at different hours of the day discourages criminal activity and makes a street feel pleasantly vibrant. I really hope the retail space will have the double-height ceilings seen in these renderings; it gives a store an inviting presence and adds an element of grandeur.

Why more affordable housing, don't think this is going to be affordable housing.

I agree the cladding material will be a deterministic part of the buildings success.

anyone who opposes this opens the door to having a car wash or a really ugly bank being built there. It looks good! Did you expect Musée des Beaux-Arts de la Ville de Paris?

East of Keele needs new businesses. Those of us who live there would love to see more pedestrians.

Hi there, all, I'm joining this thread rather late, and probably not nearly as up-to-speed as the rest of you. I live directly across the street from here. Well, kitty-corner as they say. I'm at 535 Indian Grove and moved here in August of 2010. That spot has been vacant since I moved here and I suspected all along that some kind of development would take place. This proposal isn't too outlandish and seems to make wise use of the site. I think this would be good for the area and will help to clean it up a little bit.

My biggest issue since moving here, and it has been a problem, is the prostitution and other criminal activity going on. There are lane ways behind my property that run parallel to Dundas West and it's not uncommon to find all sorts of refuse back there. In fact, I seldom go there. The big problem is prostitution, and I have a good sense that I know exactly where it emanates from, and someone mentioned this building earlier. Right at the cross-walk there. I almost never see any police presence around. I do however, see a lot of 'johns' and hookers at the corner of Indian Grove and Dundas at night, right outside my apartment. They cause disruptions to be perfectly honest and it's frustrating. The problem with drug dealing seems to be less, however, and there are not quite as many prostitutes working the streets now as there used to be.

Any development on that site is going to do wonders for adding some fresh air to this stretch of the Junction between Keele and Dupont. I welcome it. I have concerns for the building's height but it doesn't look too threatening from what I can see.

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