Toronto 350 Bloor West | 117.65m | 35s | Andrin | IBI Group

Knox College has a view corridor? A view of what, ugly buildings and sky? In a city, surely the view should be attractive buildings? With any luck the proposed building will provide something attractive to look from the SE corner.
Don't worry Doug Ford will legislate that view corridor right out of existence. If it interferer's with development it must be eliminated,
 

After four community workshops and some community consultation meetings, the developers of a 35-storey mixed use building proposed for the northwest corner of Bloor and Spadina are confident they have addressed most community concerns.

“I think we’ve really worked hard to understand some of the community input and the issues that were identified. We put forward a development application that speaks to that with those development principles,” said Project Manager Peter Venetas.

The development team – consisting of five different companies – plans to tear down and redevelop the existing buildings at this location.

In a consultation meeting in January of 2020, community members expressed concerns about protecting the view of the Knox College [now the Faculty of Architecture] corridor, shadow impacts, and social housing. In a recent community meeting, the developers addressed all of these concerns and displayed renderings and plans of the proposed building. One rendering was of [the former] Knox College and the minimized impact of the new proposal.

“The idea was to keep the buildings north of College and Spadina below the view corridor of [the former] Knox College when viewed from the northeast and the northwest corners of College and Spadina,” said Senior City Planner Barry Brooks during the meeting. “There is no projection above those at the moment of the proposed building, because the applicant was aware that that was something which should not be breached.”

The development team also displayed shadow impact renderings of the site displaying how far the shadow would go each month and each hour.

“It’s a very fast moving shadow, not staying in a particular building or area for more than an hour. It is a tall building, and will have some shadow, but I would say the impacts are minimal,” said Mansoor Kazerouni, an architect with the IBI group.

The site currently has a few rental residential units. According to Mike Dror, an Associate of Bousfields Inc., current residents at the site have the right to return to the new building to a unit of similar type, size, and rent. Current residents will also be notified four months in advance to vacate the unit, and will receive a compensation package.

Within their proposed 35-storey mixed use building there will be 380 residential units and 24 rental replacement units. No affordable housing units have been announced.
 
Subways for me, but not for thee!
“Toronto will look like a pincushion with these needle towers,” Paul Richard, long-time Annex resident said in an interview with the Gleaner. “What I like about this neighbourhood is that it’s close to the subway, and it’s a nice sort of residential neighbourhood. I don’t want that downtown feel. So, I feel like it’s destroying the residential neighbourhood atmosphere.”
 
Felt like reposting an image I made some years back when the exact same things were being said about 80 Bloor West proposal. As you could guess, this is subway coverage by 500 metre radius, with the Annex and Yorkville overlapped.

80BloorWest.png


It is rather beyond me that such a well served area of the city is staying in stasis. It is not as if the neighbourhood hasn't changed despite the opposition to development. The Annex resident said of the plans " it’s destroying the residential neighbourhood atmosphere.”. Well, if it is such a residential neighbourhood atmosphere, might I asked where the heck are all the kids in the area? Young parents haven't been able to buy into the neighbourhood for many years now. I've walked through the Annex during morning and afternoon hours, most of the kids in the local schools are being driven in from out of neighbourhood.

The neighbourhood has changed fundamentally, even if the built form has stayed the same.
 
It is rather beyond me that such a well served area of the city is staying in stasis. It is not as if the neighbourhood hasn't changed despite the opposition to development.
I’m a gonna blame the city’s planning department for this one.
 
"Well, if it is such a residential neighbourhood atmosphere, might I asked where the heck are all the kids in the area? Young parents haven't been able to buy into the neighbourhood for many years now. I've walked through the Annex during morning and afternoon hours, most of the kids in the local schools are being driven in from out of neighbourhood.

Jean Sibelius Park playground. Loads of kids.
 

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