Toronto 365 Church Condos | 102.1m | 31s | Menkes | Wallman Architects

Thanks for posting the render. The tower's not trying for anything fancy, it looks like. But I'd dare say it's badly needed in this area. That stretch of Church from Wood to Gerrard is riddled with gaps, lots and holes. Something new, shiny and glassy would be great.
I do think thirty storeys is really tall for this location, though. But, in this case it's hard not to sound persnickity, given that the area has been crumbly for so long. This could be a much-needed infusion of freshness.
 
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^ Indeed, Canadian National. For a street located so close to downtown, it has little to recommend it. Several blocks of Church Street just look like time has passed them by. There has been little happening here for years. Although I share your sense that 30 storeys might be out of scale, I won't complain. We really need some development creating links between Yonge Street and Cabbagetown. Bring it on, and hopefully a few new neighbours.
 
It's actually going to become quite a convenient spot. Once MLG is finished the area will have most of the services it needs within close distance. College Park is 2 blocks away as is the subway and the Eaton Centre is 3 blocks away. If you work in the core and don't like crowds, Church St. is a pleasant walk. And for all of us who live on or close to Church, maybe one day the TTC will reinstitute the Church St. bus as intensification increases. If you're thinking of buying in this building take note that soil testing has been occuring on the property immediately south of this one (see post #22) and may indicate a new building is coming.
 
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This is interesting: the old three story building will come down for this. Aside from the Barn across the street, this is the last remnant of a previous era on Church. I've never once gone inside that head shop, and that convenience store is always totally empty. It's a sad building.
 
I would love the retail on the ground level to have a nice big floor to ceiling glass space for a restaurant or a trendy type bar. I'm thinking of design like the ground level space like some of the condos on Bathurst between Front and King. They look great at night. It would add to the area like Guu did across the street and hopefully cement a precedent for higher quality food and drink options in the area.
 
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What about the bylaw?

What no one has mentioned here so far is that there is an existing by-law for the McGill-Granby corridor that specifically limits the height of any development in the area to protect the low-rise neighbourhood. That's why the student housing building on Gerrard and Church is stepped down to eight storeys as it gets closer to McGill Street.

The developers are trying to woo the politicians to bypass the rules and regulations that protect the residents of this community.

I find it shameful that the politicians are willing to negotiate with the developers for concessions - while turning a blind eye to the
bylaws. After all, it won't be their neighbourhood that will be ruined by a soaring tower plunked down in their midst.
 
Like Radio city "ruined" it? Come on. Towers don't necessarily kill neighbourhoods. Bad design does.

Frankly, that sad stretch of downtown toronto could use the added density, imo.
 
What no one has mentioned here so far is that there is an existing by-law for the McGill-Granby corridor that specifically limits the height of any development in the area to protect the low-rise neighbourhood. That's why the student housing building on Gerrard and Church is stepped down to eight storeys as it gets closer to McGill Street.

The developers are trying to woo the politicians to bypass the rules and regulations that protect the residents of this community.

I find it shameful that the politicians are willing to negotiate with the developers for concessions - while turning a blind eye to the
bylaws. After all, it won't be their neighbourhood that will be ruined by a soaring tower plunked down in their midst.

First off, welcome to UT. You'll notice that some forumers like to scream density, density, density!, while others actually look at the context of the site and area. There is no one-size-fits-all solution by any means, and sometimes just crossing the street can change the context for a development proposal. With any application there is a certain process. No one is "turning a blind eye to the bylaws". If they were, they would not have submitted an application to rezone the lands. The Planning Act allows for concessions to be made to increase the height and density, normally referred to as Section 37 Agreements. In a nutshell, these are negotiated by the City for the purpose of community benefits. Notwithstanding, rezoning applications are a public process and anyone can comment and make representation at the statutory public meeting and/or calling the local councilor or Planning Department. At some point the application will go to the Toronto East York Community Council for a decision and will be voted on. Of course that decision is not final, but needless to say an application does not mean that what is initially proposed will end up being built.
 
Got my meeting notice for this today, it's going to be held 31st March 2011 at St. Andrew's Evangelical lutheran Latvian Church, Lower Hall at 383 Jarvis St, from 6pm to 9pm. There will be some kind of opportunity to view the plans and ask questions.
 
I attended the community meeting last night. There were the usual objections to height, increased traffic, the call for a more beautiful (read Victorian inspired or MET inspired) architecture and family-sized condos. All very predictable, all very boring.

What struck me as interesting was the opposition to the tower dividing the McGill/Granby community in two: the parking lots and businesses already bisect the nabe, and no home owner seemed to acknowledge how dismal and bleak that division is. The project, as proposed, would connect the area at ground level, and like Radio City and MET, create a pedestrian-friendly experience.

The second oddity was the chorus of opposition to students living in the area. You'd think students had horns and pitchforks and leered like devils off their balconies at innocent children. There was a call for removing all balconies on the East face and elimination of outdoor public amenity to reduce noise: lock em in their boxes! Condo dwellers should be able to grow some geraniums, get a breath of fresh air or smoke outdoors, and should be able to BBQ somewhere: how indulgently selfish of these homeowners to restrict the airspace! At Encore we have a high population of students (50%), and while some issues emerged around noise and parties, simple condo enforcement of rules and closure of the patio at dark managed the issue. The condo is a good place to live, and I think coexists well with Granby neighbors.

The last item of serious opposition was the driveway along the east side of the property, and concerns ranged from noise to crack addicts. Again, if MET is any model, the driveway courtyard isn't a noisy place, and while garbage trucks do come in, it's a transient event. a well lit landscaped driveway area seemed well conceived.
 
The second oddity was the chorus of opposition to students living in the area. You'd think students had horns and pitchforks and leered like devils off their balconies at innocent children. There was a call for removing all balconies on the East face and elimination of outdoor public amenity to reduce noise: lock em in their boxes! Condo dwellers should be able to grow some geraniums, get a breath of fresh air or smoke outdoors, and should be able to BBQ somewhere: how indulgently selfish of these homeowners to restrict the airspace!

Hahaha, for goodness sake...why not build something like this and lock all opposition to students in there. What a bunch of Ignorant Bastard's :mad:

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