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The City of Toronto
commissioned a project to review and update the existing
Urban Design Guidelines and develop the Public Realm
Plan for the Humber Bay Shores Area to shape the
long-term vision of the area. The
City of Toronto invited the Humber Bay Shores
Condominium Association (HBSCA) to this one-day meeting
to provide the “neighbourhood” perspective to the
attendees:
Project Consultants,
Architects, owners of lands from the Monarch
developments west to Park Lawn Road, staff of the City
of Toronto and the Toronto Regional Conservation
Authority (Parks and Recreation), Mark Grimes,
Councillor, Mike McCart, City Planner, Mike Wehkind,
Traffic and Transportation.
HBSCA hosted the meeting
at Palace Place. [
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Key Opportunities
Addressed
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Review and update
existing Urban Design Guidelines
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Optimize and enhance
existing open spaces
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Harmonize new
development with existing uses
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Improve the
pedestrian environment
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How new buildings can
be best integrated on the remaining lands
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Where public spaces
can be created
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Improve existing open
spaces with better connections
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Where landscaping
should happen and green strategies
Successful examples of
design from across Canada were presented.
Mike McCart, City
Planner, presented a history of the past plans for the
area, including residential, commercial, schools,
parkland etc. Developments were put on hold until the
park was completed; at a cost of $20 million. The
development plan approved 3500 new units; 1800 of which
have been built to date. The current buildings were
constructed according to this plan. Each parcel of land
was planned individually by owners; however, no
collaboration existed between these owners, and as a
result, there was no overall plan for the design of the
area. Buildings were constructed right up to the limit
of the lot lines, resulting in buildings being very
close together, 3-4 storey townhouses are sandwiched
between towers, pedestrian walkways are not public due
to corridors and fences. Site lines between buildings
are not ideal; heights of the buildings are not
compatible; green spaces were not designed well.
Mike Wehkind, City of
Toronto, Traffic and Transportation presented an
overview of the current traffic and transportation
problems and plans for the future: streetcar right of
way from Park Lawn to the Humber Loop with 3 metre
landscaping on the south side of Lake Shore Blvd. The
tracks constructed in 2002 are compatible with “right of
way” TTC access. The Park Lawn Loop project was also
presented. The 5 members of the HBSCA presented our
view that the lack of transportation infrastructure is
the most serious problem facing our community, now and
in the future. The current infrastructure does not
support the present development in the area. This
problem will only become worse as more condominiums are
built. The loop will not be constructed until 2009 and
the right of way is not planned until after that time.
Site Tour
A site tour was conducted
with commentary from the attendees, pointing out both
positive and negative elements of the current
developments.
Future Developments
The remaining lots from
Brooker’s Lane to Park Lawn are owned by 5 different
owners. Some of these lots are very narrow making
private vehicular access to both Lake Shore Blvd. and
Marine Parade Drive impossible. Several plans for
access roads and/or laneways to service this area were
presented. View corridors to the waterfront are
difficult with narrow lots.
Land owners of these lots
presented their Site Concepts. Greywood Developments
has acquired the Silver Moon Motel land; their plan is
to work together with the owner (Monarch) of the
adjacent lot to construct a 4 storey/100 room hotel
(Marriot/Ritz Carlton) on the Lake Shore side of their 2
lots.
Waterview 4 was
originally approved for 2 towers of 29 and 17 storeys; a
mirror image of the current development. This original
plan resulted in poor visibility from the second
building and the plan for Waterview 4 has now been
revised to only one taller more slender tower of 37
storeys. 25,000 sq. ft of retail and 140 public parking
spaces will be included.
The Conservatory Group
owns the Hillcrest and North American Motel lands.
Their plan is for commercial use on Lake Shore with
mixed use on the rest of the lot.
The owner of the Shore
Breeze Motel has a plan for 10,000 sq. ft of retail on
the Lake Shore, with a 40 storey, 346 unit condominium
building to the south.
The property behind the
Esso has been designated for an elementary school but
the use could possibly change at some time in the
future.
The developers are
striving to improve on the current “look” of the area by
using podiums, step-down terracing, slender towers and
public green spaces.
The 50 people present
were arranged into small groups for two Team Exercises:
A Framework for the Future and Area Visioning and
Development Concepts.
Team Presentations
focused on:
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Key guiding
principles
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Key opportunities
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Plan
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Sections
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Sketches
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Development
criteria: What is required to make the area a great
place?
The preliminary results
of the meeting will be presented to the Design Review
Panel before the end of the year. The revised Urban
Design Guidelines are to be completed by the end of
February.
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