Toronto Wellesley Parliament Square | 190.9m | 58s | Greatwise | Arcadis

maestro said:
Is this still the densest block in Toronto after 10 years of building developments that are far denser than these towers in a park?
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Yeah it does seem a bit off that a tower-in-the-park style would have such high densities. I guess the parks are fairly small, and a lot of families are there. Maybe insertname is right that areas like Entertainment District will soon surpass it

ponyboy said:
Lots of exciting possibilities for this area. St James town is an important ethnic receiving area, and there are a lot of great programs aimed at helping residents gain job skills. Missing is weather protected places to walk and socialize, and affordable retail spaces to rent. A lot of the green colored nooks here won't work well as outdoor space, and it would be better to create a bigger podium with usable indoor space. I would like to see the developer to consider building a mall/micro retail incubator aimed at the community population in the space labeled "Block B" between the 22-story building and the planned townhouses. This space just south of the POPS will be underused, and much better to create an indoor 2-3 level mall there. Residents could run small businesses there because of affordable rents, there would be weather-protected space for elderly to walk, a small stage, and food court. Although micro-retail has been a failure at Aura, it could work a lot better in a neighbourhood like this because of the SES profile of residents, lack of many retail alternatives, and above ground accessibility.

Ideally, on top of this new mall, the roof could accommodate some recreational amenities. A bridge across to a similar roof-top green space could connect to community spaces in the envisioned 5-story building at Wellesley/Parliament. A mini-soccer field, basketball courts, and walking trail could be incorporated into these large rooftop spaces.

my changes:
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I dunno, that sounds like it would hinder some of the planned improvements. We should be making areas more permeable and porous, not walling swaths off. That's one thing I don't like about many new "urban" developments. It's a lot of what can be described as suburbanization, with long podiums that seal off streets. Sure if you live there you can cut across to the other side - by way of a fob, then a series of doors and steps, then exchanged pleasantries with concierges and security. But I'm sure it would be preferable to many to simply pass unhindered via a lane or path.

I'm a fan of tower-in-the-park, so long as it's done right. Patches of grass, parkettes, and terra firma are important. Climate-controlled, secure, 9-5 areas can't offer the same. Although towers-in-the-park can be described as a suburban concept, I think they can offer more urbanity than a lot modern developments. Which I think this vision should prove.
 
I would think the Fort York Neighbourhood/ Cityplace has already passed St James Town with residents starting to have families. Rumours are Cityplace school is already too small (from registrations) and it hasn't been built yet! Cityplace's buildable density isn't even that high compared to what is being planned now like One Yonge/Sugar Wharf.
 
240 WELLESLEY ST E
Ward 28 - Tor & E.York District

►View All Properties

Proposed Use --- # of Storeys --- # of Units ---

Applications:
Type Number Date Submitted Status
OPA & Rezoning 18 148195 STE 28 OZ Apr 24, 2018 Application Received
 
From the Dev App site:
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This is an exciting development.

The proposed changes to the way the ground level operates in this area will be worthwhile.

ponyboy said:
Lots of exciting possibilities for this area. St James town is an important ethnic receiving area, and there are a lot of great programs aimed at helping residents gain job skills. Missing is weather protected places to walk and socialize, and affordable retail spaces to rent. A lot of the green colored nooks here won't work well as outdoor space, and it would be better to create a bigger podium with usable indoor space. I would like to see the developer to consider building a mall/micro retail incubator aimed at the community population in the space labeled "Block B" between the 22-story building and the planned townhouses. This space just south of the POPS will be underused, and much better to create an indoor 2-3 level mall there. Residents could run small businesses there because of affordable rents, there would be weather-protected space for elderly to walk, a small stage, and food court. Although micro-retail has been a failure at Aura, it could work a lot better in a neighbourhood like this because of the SES profile of residents, lack of many retail alternatives, and above ground accessibility.

Ideally, on top of this new mall, the roof could accommodate some recreational amenities. A bridge across to a similar roof-top green space could connect to community spaces in the envisioned 5-story building at Wellesley/Parliament. A mini-soccer field, basketball courts, and walking trail could be incorporated into these large rooftop spaces.

my changes:

screenshot-urbantoronto-ca-2018-04-07-16-54-57-png-modified-png.139483
Click to expand...

Some great ideas here. I imagine a Pacific Mall inspired form of fine grained retail.

Moreover, it would instantly convert St Jamestown into a destination in the city.
 
The misalignment of the east west street right in the middle of the site (Below the 32 st building) is anti-pedestrian and creates an unnecessary difficult traffic space for all modes of transit. The Annex, for example, is full of these and they are very stressful to cross. I’d rather they adjust that to be one continuous street. Other than that, I like the direction this is going.
 
I just skimmed through this but they are increasing density in an area that I don't think can handle it. Wellesley, Parliament and Sherbourne streets are all 1 lane and congested. Driving along Wellesley and Sherbourne during rush hour is a mess. There's also a condo going up at Wellesley and Sherbourne. A number of other projects going up further north. My question is, where is the infrastructure to support this influx of people?
 
Excerpts from an article in today's Toronto Star; https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/20...ed-st-james-town-has-residents-concerned.html


In fact, St. James Town is considered one of the most, if not the most, densely populated neighbourhoods in Canada.


That’s a key reason a new development application by Greatwise Developments Corp., calling for a 51-storey condo highrise, four townhouse blocks and two midrise buildings including a 10-storey rental building — 890 new units in all — has local residents, service providers and city planners nervous.

“The proposed development will allow us with hindsight to correct many of the site’s existing challenges including the current lack of public road connections through the site, undefined open spaces, an abundance of surface parking and outdoor garbage storage areas, and the monotony of the prevailing architectural forms, among other issues,” Roth said in his statement.
Proposed features include a new supermarket, a network of new streets and a new 0.1-hectare public park, though the city says the applicant’s park allotment needs to be bigger.
The developer also plans to take out the Food Basics discount grocery store on Wellesley and replace it with another unspecified supermarket.
 
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I'm sure the residents around St.James Town are going to love hearing that even more density is coming for them:

www.theglobeandmail.com

In the pandemic, Toronto’s St. James Town needs room to breathe

While the dense neighbourhood provides a critical supply of affordable housing, the area suffers from a lack of public, open space
www.theglobeandmail.com www.theglobeandmail.com

In all seriousness though, that area needs a lot more community facilities and green space, not more towers and townhomes. It's cramped enough as is.
 
This area needs a new master plan with co-operation among the various land owners and support from the city and province. Adding further density to the site is not the solution unless it is used to swing existing renters into the new construction in order to replace the existing housing stock. As one of the highest density population areas in the country, revitalizing this area requires cooperation from all stakeholders, especially the government due to the nature of the buildings as low-income housing, in order to fix the structural issues with the configuration of the neighbourhood and deteriorating building conditions.
 
I have lived at 280 Wellesley for over 12 years now, some minor improvements have been made over the years, and the community is in need of and uplift and redevelopment, that’s out of the question, what we don’t need is to bring more people over...that huge tower needs to be scaled down if not scrapped off entirely, just with the people that the condo towers at Sherbourne/Wellesley and Bloor/Parliament are going to bring into the area there’s gonna be just enough room to coexist, taking out even more space to bring even more people specially at this corner makes no sense, they need to rethink this project and better make some green spaces, sport facilities for the youth that live here, spaces for the art community, infrastructure that can attract businesses and people to come and enjoy but not bring more people to live here, as it is right now, it takes about 5 minutes to drive on Wellesley from Parliament to Yonge, but at some points of the day right now it can take you over 20 minutes, that tower is a mistake that the city needs to avoid
 
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