The Agincourt Mall redevelopment proposal appeared before the Design Review Panel a week and a half ago now (been busy), unchanged from what we've seen already, and I have some rough notes from that which I'm essentially going to dump here:
First off - the amount of parkland being proposed for the site exceeds the amount that the City requires. Toronto Parks, Forestry and Recreation doesn't like the plan so much though, as they don't want it spread throughout the site, they want it all in one block, sort of north central. The DRP was asked to comment on that. As you'll see, the DRP members liked the parks as proposed, not one of them supporting Toronto PFR's position.
The notes start out as "a member was…" because the members are not supposed to be identified by their comments unless you ask each one first. There's no reason to identify though anyway, as no one member's comment holds any more weight than anyone else. So…
A member ws surprised by all of the challenges on the site in regard to easements at the current mall (no build zones, etc.), loves the central park, the ‘rambla’, would like to see more variation in the height of buildings (lower near the park, higher near Sheppard), higher podiums, greater variety of plate sizes, something civic in scale for the west side of street C.
The second member agrees with the first, looking to move more density east, some of it away from the central park, would like to see much more planting on Sheppard.
One member is concerned with how dense this is (denser than the West Don Lands), unsure of how this plan treats Sheppard (not detailed enough info on that).
A member really likes the spirit of the design, with a strong public realm network, including the engagement of the community to the west, but is also wondering about the placement of the towers around the park, (likes the homes surrounding the park though).
A member like the ‘rambla’ particularly, the richness of the green space plan, agrees that there should be more building typologies.
A member remarks that it’s always a pleasure to see a proposal built around such a strong landscape, (but wants more on Sheppard, pushing those buildings back a bit in a trade off for more height), possibly add retail at the west end of Road A where it meets the park as that would be very popular, wants something more formal for the part of the park near the library.
After all the comments, the vote was going to be Refine—with the condition that tower placement and heights be looked at more closely— but then it was decided it was too early going to ask for either Refine or Redesign, so not vote was taken.
Meanwhile, there is a public consultation coming up on Monday, November 6 from 4 to 7 PM at the mall, for anyone wanting to weigh-in on the plan.
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