Toronto 50 Merton | 157.47m | 46s | Diamond Corp | Hariri Pontarini

At least this will partially hide that mass pile of garbage known as Life Condos immediately on the east of this.

​

 
A little comment here: you can tell that the Matlow-sponsored spree of batch heritage-register listings hereabouts (and the community which sponsored it) had its priorities skewed through the fact that it ignored stuff like Girl Guides totally.
 
Still amazingly disappointed by the City "Wasting the Opportunity" on their neighbouring HOUSING NOW site at 140 MERTON...proposing only an 18-Storey building there in 2021 is a huge waste. :mad:

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HOUSING_NOW_06-140 Merton Street_PROPOSAL_201909_markup.png
 
HousingNowTO said:
@Still amazingly disappointed by the City "Wasting the Opportunity" on their neighbouring HOUSING NOW site at 140 MERTON...proposing only an 18-Storey building there in 2021 is a huge waste. :mad:

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It's almost corrupt at this point...all we can do is keep the pressure and media attention on these sites, @HousingNowTO you are doing a fantastic job.

I'll remember this site next time Councillor Josh Matlow wants to grandstand about affordable housing...
 


50 Merton Street - Notice of Intention to Designate a Property under Part IV, Section 29 of the Ontario Heritage Act

Summary​
This report recommends that City Council state its intention to designate the property at 50 Merton Street under Part IV, Section 29 of the Ontario Heritage Act.

The Girl Guides of Canada Headquarters at 50 Merton Street was the first permanent and purpose-built national headquarters for the organization since its founding in Canada in 1910. It is a three-storey complex completed in 1962 to the design of Carmen Corneil, project architect for William J. McBain & Associates and extended in 1970-72 by the partnership of Elin and Carmen Corneil. The complex has been recognized as a significant and innovative work of Post-War Modern architecture and particularly represents the globally influential leadership of the Finnish architect Alvar Aalto. It has also been lauded on its own terms for its innovation which was based in a meaningful interpretation of site and program and fulfilled in exceptionally fine details and selection of materials.

The Historic Sites and Monuments Board has recognized the national significance of the Girl Guides of Canada through its designation of the Girl Guide Movement in Canada a National Historic Event in 2011 and installed a plaque at 50 Merton Street.
Girl Guides Movement which was founded in 1909 in England and established in Canada in 1910 with the creation of several local branches including Toronto. The citation on the plaque at the property notes the importance of the Girl Guides as both a Canadian and international organization which emphasizes the "outdoors, character-building, and self-reliance… the organisation has provided Canadian girls and women with strong inspiration role models in order to nurture responsible, service-oriented citizens and community leaders.

The property at 50 Merton Street was identified as having potential cultural heritage value in Official Plan Amendment 405. Following research and evaluation under Ontario Regulation 9/06, the provincial criteria prescribed for municipal designation, staff have determined that the property at 50 Merton Street merits designation under Part IV Section 29 of the Ontario Heritage Act for its design, associative and contextual value.

A Zoning By-law Amendment application has been submitted to permit the redevelopment of the properties at 50 and 64 Merton Street with a 39-storey mixed-use building having a non-residential gross floor area of 2,342.0 square metres and a residential gross floor area of 29,326.0 square metres. A total of 443 residential dwelling units are proposed. In the original proposal the existing buildings on the site were to be demolished. Since that first submission, the applicant and their consultants have met with City Planning staff and toured the property to discuss the cultural heritage value of the Girl Guides Headquarters to further inform this report and an application resubmission.

In June 2019, the More Homes, More Choice Act, 2019 (Bill 108) received Royal Assent. Schedule 11 of this Act included amendments to the Ontario Heritage Act. The Bill 108 Amendments to the Ontario Heritage Act came into force on July 1, 2021, which included a shift in Part IV designations related to certain Planning Act applications. Section 29(1.2) of the Ontario Heritage Act now restricts City Council's ability to give notice of its intention to designate a property under the Act to within 90 days after the City Clerk gives notice of a complete application.

The City Clerk issued a complete application notice on December 17, 2021. The applicant has provided a waiver extending the 90-day timeline. This Notice of Intention to Designate report must be considered by City Council before May 31, 2022.

Designation enables the conservation of the property and allows City Council to review proposed alterations, enforce heritage property standards and maintenance, and refuse demolition.​
 
Alterra and DiamondCorp are hoping to launch this project on the market next year:

Alterra and DiamondCorp have also jointly acquired a property on the north side of Merton Street, east of Yonge Street, in midtown Toronto.

They’re proposing a 39-storey, 443-unit condo development that’s still in the planning and approvals stages.

“It was a matter of the success we had with Celeste being a catalyst to ride that wave of success by partnering again,” said Blazevski. “We purchased the Merton Street property and we’re excited to be going through the process and hopefully launching that one in the next year or so.”
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renx.ca

Alterra, DiamondCorp partner on Toronto developments

Alterra and DiamondCorp will launch sales for Celeste Condominiums, a 40-storey downtown Toronto mixed-use building with a heritage component, during the next few weeks. Alterra had conditionally purchased the property in 2018. The respective principals of the two companies are
renx.ca renx.ca
 
This one has undergone some changes.

The City was set to move to designate the Girl Guides building; after some back and forth, we're set to get partial facadism here incorporated into the podium.

Personally, irrespective of what premium one placed on the existing building, I think this is a step backwards from the initial iteration, and does little, if anything positive from a preservation perspective.
They attempted to preserve, in part, what they refer to as a courtyard (I would call a forecourt), which serves to give the building an awkward relationship to the street. Sigh.........

There is an OPA in relation to changes to address less replacement office space in the proposal than staff think is appropriate here.

OPA link first, then the render, then some deets from the cover letter.

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From the Cover Letter:

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The total unit count changed from 443 units to 430 units. Total parking space changed from 114 parking to 97 parking.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
New rendering updated to the database. The storey changed from 39 storey to 40 storey. The total height increased from 133.66m to 142.37m. The total unit count changed from 430 units to 505 units. Finally, the total parking space changed from 97 parking to 98 parking.

Rendering taken from the arch plan via Rezoning submission:

PLN - Architectural Plans - ARCHITECTURAL PLANS - 50-64 Merton St-1.jpg


PLN - Architectural Plans - ARCHITECTURAL PLANS - 50-64 Merton St-3.jpg
 
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