Tormick
Active Member
... would you want to live in this?
Toronto 2451 St Clair Avenue West | 22.47m | 6s | Montcrest | Chamberlain
- Thread starter Paclo
- Start date
artyboy123
Senior Member
Bloody hell, mates! such a tiny hallway area for both stairs and elevator area...
artyboy123
Senior Member
The area is not really both transit friendly and also not even amenities friendly...the closest grocery is The Nations which is still another 15 minutes walks after passing by heavy traffic not really pedestrian friendly.
ProjectEnd
Superstar
Walmart is across the street. Fresh Co. is across the tracks. Even Summerhill Market and the Loblaws west of Jane are closer than Nations. What are you talking about?
artyboy123
Senior Member
lmao, I barely venture out of the area, but now on Google Maps I see Walmart and FreshCo across the street.
And there is a strip mall next to the Walmart!
@ProjectEnd, thanks for the heads up!
Northern Light
Superstar
All fair points, assuming one considers Wal Mart a retailer that appeals.
But on pedestrian friendliness, @artyboy123 has a point.
The pin marks this proposal. Not the most appealing walking area.
Looking towards the Walmart from this site:
Not the most appealing walk to the Freshco either:
Northern Light
Superstar
Thank you for coming here to share your perspective.
Attachments
Northern Light
Superstar
I thought I would share the typical residential floor layout here:
All units are 3 bdrm and slightly over 1,100ft2 Each contains 2 bathrooms with at least 3 pieces (tub combos in one, walk-in shower in the other). Broadly workable.
Challenges here: 1 elevator, understandable, but I struggle with what happens to a tenant when the elevator is down for renewal for six months, and they have to use the stairs, hauling grocery or moving in/out and they're on the 6th floor.
For reasons I've discussed, I generally favour 2 egresses (not just safety, the offset requirements in fire rating and other measures largely wipe out any savings by going to one).
That said, they seriously challenge a good layout here. I mean these aren't bad unit, but if one could place the stairs (and elevator) differently, this could work better, in theory.
The challenge is that this design essentially has no windows along the entire length of the building, with these limited to the front and back and to a light well created behind the elevator in the middle.
I think its feels 'good for what the site permits' but I'm not sure that makes the case that this is a sensible way to build. I'd be curious to see where the rents land, and how profitable this will be.
All units are 3 bdrm and slightly over 1,100ft2 Each contains 2 bathrooms with at least 3 pieces (tub combos in one, walk-in shower in the other). Broadly workable.
Challenges here: 1 elevator, understandable, but I struggle with what happens to a tenant when the elevator is down for renewal for six months, and they have to use the stairs, hauling grocery or moving in/out and they're on the 6th floor.
For reasons I've discussed, I generally favour 2 egresses (not just safety, the offset requirements in fire rating and other measures largely wipe out any savings by going to one).
That said, they seriously challenge a good layout here. I mean these aren't bad unit, but if one could place the stairs (and elevator) differently, this could work better, in theory.
The challenge is that this design essentially has no windows along the entire length of the building, with these limited to the front and back and to a light well created behind the elevator in the middle.
I think its feels 'good for what the site permits' but I'm not sure that makes the case that this is a sensible way to build. I'd be curious to see where the rents land, and how profitable this will be.
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AlbertC
Superstar
This area is primarily auto-centric and currently does not have appealing streetscape. There's a lot of auto repair shops and dealerships. But IMO it's not a terrible spot in terms of having access to basic necessities. There's definitely worse areas than this.
As previously mentioned, Walmart and Freshco are within a short distance away. There's also a BMO and TD bank nearby to the west of Runnymede. The plaza west of Walmart includes Dollarama, Starbucks, Tim Hortons and other fast food and different types of stores. And Stockyards is within reasonable distance.
St Clair & Runnymede isn't necessarily seen as a restaurant hot spot but there are options including Mother India Roti, Pho Gold Star, Starving Artist, High Park Brewery, Lost Craft Brewery, The Burger Monk, etc are all nearby.
There's Runnymede Park on Ryding Ave which is just south of St Clair if you need to walk the dog or to get some fresh air. George Bell hockey arena is beside it. And the Junction area to the south is also walkable for those who want to do so.
It's fair to say that transit is on the weak side, which is why cars dominate the landscape around here. Your best bet is to take the 71 bus down to Runnymede station and get on the Bloor subway line. Which is doable within 12 to 15 minutes most of the time.
There's some other developments in the pipeline a bit to the east along St. Clair. With the market slowdown they'll be held back for some time. But eventually they're help improve streetscape and bring in further critical mass in the area to support the local retail and such.
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artyboy123
Senior Member
The challenge is that this design essentially has no windows along the entire length of the building, with these limited to the front and back and to a light well created behind the elevator in the middle.
The view in question...
Units facing north will see the busy car-oriented St. Clair Avenue West...not a premium view i guess!
Units facing south will see these hideous parked cars!
In terms of where the rents land...it most likely will be a very competitive rental rate, trying to capture price-conscious consumers - 100% won't be premium finishes!
jmi22
Active Member
I'd say people almost always prefer having more windows, than less, even if the view is less than stunning
Northern Light
Superstar
I would agree, but then add, windows are a requirement. You can't build windowless residential.
This is one (of many) challenges with going tall on a deep'ish, but narrow sites, that have to have blank sidewalls, for the most part, in order to allow identical development to go in beside them. Hence the need for the light well here.