Toronto Minto Westside | 68.88m | 20s | Minto Group | Wallman Architects

Stop Minto Freed said:
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southview.png
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Thanks for the renderings Stop Minto Freed, it definitely gives me a better sense of the proposal (vs the black line drawings)

My initial impression is, I do like the facade design of the westerly building, the use of different materials cetainly help a lot in creating interest on the west elevation fronting Bathurst which help to falsely create 3-building like effect ... notwithstanding that, I do agree that that the 14 storeys slab along Bathurst is too heavy visually and too bulky, I would like to see that middle slab portion taken down closer to 8 storeys while maintaining the 16 and 22 storey 'towers' as bookends ....

my second comment is, the easterly 19 storey tower is just plain boring (reminds me of Spring @ MintoGardens NYCC), plus the assoicated 16 storey slab building is poorly located which only creates an alley-like living condition for its residents (and westerly facing units in Reve) ... I would think a better solution is to bump up the height of the slab/podium building on Front Street to about 8 storeys with a point tower anchoring the southeast corner and another point tower at the northeast corner on Niagara Street, this would allow the elimination of the easterly slab building and therefore opening up the site ... I think it is a really bad idea (under current proposal) to have 3 slab buildings running parallel to each other (2 Minto-Freed and 1 Tridel Reve) with so little separation distance :eek:
 
SpadinaBus said:
What is so funny about it?
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Funny is that in the day and age we live in, we have areas in Toronto with height limits where from where one side of the street to the other (even though your in the same hood) it varies.
...example new development average in this area, Spadina Ave. west side 10-15s, east side 25-50s...Front street, north side 10-15s, south side 10-45s...Bathurst street, east side again 10-15s, west side 10-up to 25s..

This is similar to the dry areas in Toronto that were able to serve liquor on on one side of the street and the guy across the street was denied a liquor licence...i believe thats all been abolished,
I think its time to do the same here with height limits that are in the same proximity...where one person on one side cant do squat, and the other guy on the other side can bitch and complain about everything.
 
Solaris said:
Thanks for the renderings Stop Minto Freed, it definitely gives me a better sense of the proposal (vs the black line drawings)

My initial impression is, I do like the facade design of the westerly building, the use of different materials cetainly help a lot in creating interest on the west elevation fronting Bathurst which help to falsely create 3-building like effect ... notwithstanding that, I do agree that that the 14 storeys slab along Bathurst is too heavy visually and too bulky, I would like to see that middle slab portion taken down closer to 8 storeys while maintaining the 16 and 22 storey 'towers' as bookends ....

my second comment is, the easterly 19 storey tower is just plain boring (reminds me of Spring @ MintoGardens NYCC), plus the assoicated 16 storey slab building is poorly located which only creates an alley-like living condition for its residents (and westerly facing units in Reve) ... I would think a better solution is to bump up the height of the slab/podium building on Front Street to about 8 storeys with a point tower anchoring the southeast corner and another point tower at the northeast corner on Niagara Street, this would allow the elimination of the easterly slab building and therefore opening up the site ... I think it is a really bad idea (under current proposal) to have 3 slab buildings running parallel to each other (2 Minto-Freed and 1 Tridel Reve) with so little separation distance :eek:
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The important thing to note here is that this Minto Freed partnership is a bit of a ruse.
In fact there are 4 separate buildings (as condo corps) in this development due to the fact that they are splitting the project in half (2 buildings each). This is a very significant hinderance on the architect to make the best use of the site. This partnership is what is making this design really compromised. If one of the partners were smart, they should buy the other out and start over.
 
See below in red for changes.

Stop Minto Freed said:
Residents of the Wellington Place and Niagara Neighbourhoods are strongly opposing Rezoning Application # 11 230641 STE OZ by Minto BF Inc. and Freed BF Inc. for 578 Front Street West (northeast corner of Bathurst and Front). This proposal (renderings below have been removed) is asking for more than twice the density allowed by the City's Official Plan, Secondary Plan, Zoning Bylaw and goes against all planning principles in terms of traffic and built form impact with no benefit to the city.

This proposal, if approved, will cause a precedent and snowball effect. All sites and existing buildings in the City will be free to demand more and more density with no associated public benefit.

We are not opposed to development of the site! We are asking the City to require Minto Freed to conform to well-established planning rules and revise their plan in consultation with the neighbourhood, planning officials at the city and local councillors Adam Vaughan and Mike Layton. Other projects (including some by Freed Developments) have done so and the neighbourhood and City have benefited.

Please visit our site and take action by signing our petition and writing to your local councillor and the mayor.

The future of sustainable development in the City of Toronto depends on your actions.

Visit our Website:
www.StopMintoFreedDevelopment.com

Follow us on Twitter:
https://twitter.com/#!/stopmintofreed


Thanks.

Wellington Place Neighbourhood Association
Niagara Neighbourhood Now

We are sorry but some of the material submitted as part of the Re-Zoning Application has been removed at the request of Minto Freed. They do not wish these materials shared with the public citing "copyright" reasons.
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SpadinaBus said:
The important thing to note here is that this Minto Freed partnership is a bit of a ruse.
In fact there are 4 separate buildings (as condo corps) in this development due to the fact that they are splitting the project in half (2 buildings each). This is a very significant hinderance on the architect to make the best use of the site. This partnership is what is making this design really compromised. If one of the partners were smart, they should buy the other out and start over.
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Are you suggesting that the project would benefit from having a single developer/architect/builder in charge of the entire site?

If so I couldn't disagree more. I would argue the contrary; divide it into a dozen parcels and have a dozen parties develop the site in a much more natural way. These mega developments end up being monotonous, corporate and banal. Even if they are in the hands of good designers.

And keep the Sherwin Williams building! Demolishing this tells me Freed actually has no idea about city building or simply doesn't give a crap.
 
I was under the impression that urbantoronto was a PRO development (assuming heritage buildings dont fall under the gun).
May be the first time i have seen someone say "this is too tall" on UT. Considering cityplace is right across the (noisy truck covered) Bathurst bridge, the height seems appropriate. If Rosedale-ians can handle the four seasons and 1 bloor (and a few more towers according to some rumours) at their doorstep, I dont see the real hysteria about something so....minor at front and bathurst.
Forgive me for being a bit agressive, but I dont think this StopFreedMinto thing is going to win the battle here..hope it gets built...tall
IMO a couple decent sized towers north of the tracks would create a nice canyon effect for people arriving by rail from the west.
 
UrbanToronto is pro GOOD development. Just what that is, is up for debate in every thread.

42
 
interchange42 said:
UrbanToronto is pro GOOD development. Just what that is, is up for debate in every thread.

42
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well its no chrysler building, but then again its also not over 300 meters....or even over 90 meters...the render looks like something that would fit in well with Reve on front st and the thompson hotel. I realize that the neighbours have their say, but at the same time it seems like they are arguing for arguments sake. how out of line is eighty-something meters when cityplace's cluster of towers is less than a block away? This neighbourhood is situated on a busy rail corridor, with several construction sites within earshot. Im sure they have a lot on their plate, but this is just another drop in the bucket. If they are concerned with the noise, they wouldnt want the plans modified, they would want them cancelled. They say they are concerned with height but that just doesnt add up with Parade by concord so damn close
 
The King-Spadina west precinct has a secondary plan. This proposal greatly exceeds what is defined in that plan. In addition, the proposal appears to reference what is being built over at City Place, while at the same time tossing in a few bricks in order to suggest some attachment to what is actually in the vicinity. It's also obvious that Minto and Freed want to jam as many units as possible onto this lot in order to make up for excessive money they paid for the land.

The developer's traffic plan posted at Stop Minto Freed seems way too optimistic, but then what else is new.
 
Right project for the location

Complaining about traffic at Front and Bathurst is like complaining about the heat in a sauna. Perhaps they could taper it off a little to the north but this is definitely the precise spot for some big scale intensification.

What shocks me is not that they are proposing such a dense project but that there is actually demand for residential living at this formerly desolate industrial/warehouse district.

It's amazing to see such positive changes occur at such a rapid pace. Score another victory for downtown density and enjoy the ride!
 
The best thing the city did to worsen the traffic jam was to place a stop light between Wellington and Niagara on Bathurst. Placing the light in between these two intersections plugs everything up real good.
 
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