AHK
Senior Member
A couple questions for anyone in the know:
1) I was under the impression from early renders that as part of the project, the sidewalk would be widened along Wellington St all the way west to Portland, as apparently the parking lots west of Draper St are on leased land. Now the widening seems like it has stopped east of Draper St. and there is no indication it will actually continue west. Perhaps it was never going to be extended to Portland?
2) Are there any plans to modify Wellington St between Spadina and Portland in conjunction with the completion of The Well? This stretch operates as sort of a wide, laneless speedway at the moment. The redeveloped intersection at Wellington/Portland was a mistake as it's difficult to cross as a pedestrian, and cars seem to have no idea how to handle the triple crosswalk.
Short answer - Yes, this portion of the boulevard will be upgraded, but it is separate from The Well project.
Longer answer: The parking area in front of the historic Copp Clark building part of Portland Commons is actually City of Toronto property with licensed boulevard parking, as is the area in front of the 485 Wellington Street West building. Boulevard parking licensing is at the discretion of the City, and (I believe) is renewed annually.
Both upgrades are committed as part of the redevelopment plans approved by the City for these two properties, and will be undertaken by the respective project teams when the new buildings are done. The west portion, in front of the Copp Clark building is planned to be constructed next year by Ellis Don, as part of their overall Portland Commons project scope.
The Well project scope included addressing the Wellington Street south side boulevard in front of not just The Well, but also the separately owned 401 Wellington West and the corner building at Wellington and Draper streets - all being done by Ellis Don - as the work is taking place on City owned boulevard, not on private property, and was a condition of the City's approval for The Well project.