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Swansea / Bloor West Village

I've noticed the empty lot (where Shoppers, and other shops were at one point) on Southport St has been sold. Looks like the condo originally planned there won't be going up. Does anyone know what they plan to do with the property? It's been empty for a couple of years, and ugly for longer than that! :confused:
 
Thank god!! That proposed condo was by far one of the worst designs in the GTA in recent memory.
 
onfence said:
So how would you guys describe the area around NXT?
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The recreational amenities are superb with the waterfront and High Park a short walk away. Retail is dull, with only convenience stores and a big-box plaza further west on the Queensway. You could also go to Bloor West Village, Lake Shore or Roncesvalles, but it's not in the same neighbourhood and hence less convenient. The new high-rise condo buildings to the west are very awkward in massing.

You might also appreciate the streetcar connection to Queen Street. Parkdale has a lot of businesses too, and you can go downtown on that car, albeit slowly. The intersection with King also diversifies the transit options. You'll surely be close to the DRL subway line if that's ever built.
 
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onfence said:
So how would you guys describe the area around NXT?
Click to expand...

Like the poster above stated, it's a fairly quiet and sleepy neighborhood. You'll have to take the streetcar (or your own car) to do any shopping, with the exception of the convenience store, and gas station (and the Cheese Boutique!). The streetcar (501) I take every morning from Windermere to Spadina takes about 25 minutes to reach downtown, and the trip back at 5:30 takes a bit longer at around 40 minutes on average. There is a bus (77) that runs infrequently (30 minutes in off hours, 15 minutes in peak) that will take you north to Bloor St and Runnymede Stn. That said, Roncesvalles is only a twenty minute walk, and less than five by streetcar. There are numerous delis, bakeries, coffee shops, and markets. Bloor West is a similar distance, and has many of same offerings.

You're surrounded by parks, bike paths, and trails in the area. Since you're immediately off of the beach, you can bike to downtown just as fast as you can take the streetcar, all while avoiding traffic most of the way. There's plenty to explore to, High Park, Humber Bay, Humber South, Gzowski Park..

It's a very pet friendly neighborhood, and you may think twice about moving here if you hate dogs. They're literally everywhere, but most dog owners are well behaved and responsible. And of course, Humber Bay has an off-leash area opening this summer, High Park has the huge (and sometimes insane) dog hill, and Rennie Park has a fairly quiet off leash area. Numerous dog owners will let their pets run free on the beach, or non-designated parks though, so beware.

Yep, that about wraps it up for me. :D


Update: And just to comment on my post above about the property on Southport. I've noticed that workers have been tearing down the boards to a few of the buildings in the lot (the Shoppers, and another). Still not sure what they're up to, but I certainly wouldn't mind the retail outlets to move back in.
 
JLankford said:
Update: And just to comment on my post above about the property on Southport. I've noticed that workers have been tearing down the boards to a few of the buildings in the lot (the Shoppers, and another). Still not sure what they're up to, but I certainly wouldn't mind the retail outlets to move back in.
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Funny thing is that the retail plaza would probably work now, whereas I can't figure out why it was originally built there given the relatively sparse population (largely a function of being surrounded on three sides by parks/Lake Ontario).

Southport Street Development Corp. is the legal name of the purchaser. Not sure what DevCo that's a front for, but they got a ridiculously good price (if you take the $6.0mm specified as consideration on registered title) and the transaction closed April 28. As recently as a couple of years ago the former owner was trying to get $13.1mm for the site. The "Residences of the King's Way" building that was rendered on the sales office and billboards is actually OMB approved (plus some commercial space in front of it), so there's a ton of value in that site based on the OMB-certified density. Imagine what could be done on that sight by a developer with any proper aesthetic and planning instinct.

Scuttlebut in the neighbourhood (from one of the residents on Ripley) is that the soil and water table in the whole area is rather toxic due to the combination of heavy industry (mid-20th century) and the garbage dump that predates it. I looked at a building on Ripley that has Phase 2 confirmation of the presence of a number of nasty contaminants. Not sure how Tridel's buildings to the south dealt with those issues.
 
voxpopulicosmicum said:
Funny thing is that the retail plaza would probably work now, whereas I can't figure out why it was originally built there given the relatively sparse population (largely a function of being surrounded on three sides by parks/Lake Ontario).

Southport Street Development Corp. is the legal name of the purchaser. Not sure what DevCo that's a front for, but they got a ridiculously good price (if you take the $6.0mm specified as consideration on registered title) and the transaction closed April 28. As recently as a couple of years ago the former owner was trying to get $13.1mm for the site. The "Residences of the King's Way" building that was rendered on the sales office and billboards is actually OMB approved (plus some commercial space in front of it), so there's a ton of value in that site based on the OMB-certified density. Imagine what could be done on that sight by a developer with any proper aesthetic and planning instinct.

Scuttlebut in the neighbourhood (from one of the residents on Ripley) is that the soil and water table in the whole area is rather toxic due to the combination of heavy industry (mid-20th century) and the garbage dump that predates it. I looked at a building on Ripley that has Phase 2 confirmation of the presence of a number of nasty contaminants. Not sure how Tridel's buildings to the south dealt with those issues.
Click to expand...

The problem was that it was invisible from Windermere, South Kingsway, and The Queensway. If it had been at the north-east corner of South Kingsway and Queensway, it would have drawn people passing it.
 
voxpopulicosmicum said:
Scuttlebut in the neighbourhood (from one of the residents on Ripley) is that the soil and water table in the whole area is rather toxic due to the combination of heavy industry (mid-20th century) and the garbage dump that predates it. I looked at a building on Ripley that has Phase 2 confirmation of the presence of a number of nasty contaminants. Not sure how Tridel's buildings to the south dealt with those issues.
Click to expand...

Though I guess it makes the Cheese Boutique's fare tastier...
 
Looks like they've finally started ripping apart the old shopping complex on Southport over the last couple of days. They're taking down the back buildings first, slowly.

Any word on what development plans they have?
 
Today i drove past it and it seems like everything was taken apart except for the building that was once a shoppers drug mart. My best guess is that this building might be a sales centre for a small condo. I'm also interested in what will happen to this property as it has been dead for a very long time.
 
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