Major developments are coming to the west end. Is Bloor St. West the new Yonge St.?

Five large-scale, highrise condo communities are underway along the city’s other major subway line.

Thestar.com
April 19, 2018
Vjosa Isai

Toronto’s a city that grows north. That’s been true throughout its history, with density crowding its way along Yonge St.

But today, developers are looking west -- with five large-scale, highrise condo communities underway along the city’s other major subway line.

The developments on and around Bloor St. W. are expected to create roughly 6,000 residential units -- bringing in thousands of people -- as they’re built over the next decade or more. They’ll re-shape communities, add spokes to the skyline, and they’re just the beginning.

So, is Bloor St. W. the new Yonge St.?

“The density over Yonge has taken so long to get to where it is,” said Graham Haines, research manager at the Ryerson City Building Institute. While Yonge St. grew to host powerhouse towers emblazoned with bank logos and other major businesses, Bloor St. W. established more of a residential character that developers will now have to work around.

“I think to see that type of concentrated density along Bloor might be more difficult given ... it’s a much more residential context than we see along Yonge St.”

The city has always been looking to develop along the major transit artery, Haines said, but developers had been focused downtown. They’re finally starting to look east-west as they run out of space in the core, giving an opportunity to spread out not only where people live, but also where they work.

“Right now, so many people’s commutes are to downtown, and, if we can find ways to put employment opportunities on Bloor, on Danforth, along the subway lines, it gives us an opportunity to help bring jobs closer to where some people live to reduce the strain on the TTC,” Haines said.

However, both Haines and Ken Greenberg, an urban designer and consultant in the public and private sector, say the success of these projects rests on whether developers “get it right.”

This means fewer one-bedroom or studio apartments, and more affordable living space for families.

It’s “not just a matter of plunking tall condos down randomly,” Greenberg said.

He pointed to the Liberty Village condos as an example of what happens when dense buildings aren’t supported by the right community amenities and public space.

Jennifer Keesmaat, the former chief planner for the City of Toronto, said neighbourhoods such as Liberty Village and Cityplace are often criticized for not being walkable or having a strong sense of community, but she sees that changing.

“There’s a process underway to better connect Liberty Village,” Keesmaat said. “It’s getting better woven into the fabric of the city, it’s not there yet,” she said of the main issue with the neighbourhood, namely the low-height and widely spread buildings.

There are also historic mistakes developers should learn from.

“I think we have all those examples, particularly from the ’70s and the ’80s where you’ve got clusters of highrise slabs occurring along transit lines, but really designed as standalone enclaves just providing -- whether it was rental housing or condominiums -- a certain product without much thought to building neighbourhoods,” said Greenberg. It requires a shift in conceptualizing design, he explained, with “precinct planning” in mind, not just neighbourhood planning.

The veteran urban planner with more than four decades of experience in North America and Europe is not surprised more people want to live on Bloor and Danforth near transit, calling TTC’s Line 2 “an underutilized resource.”

TTC spokesperson Stuart Green said the service monitors and makes adjustments, depending on their resources, as a result of ridership boosts from development.

But Richard White, a planning historian, author, and lecturer at the University of Toronto, doesn’t see development continuing at this level along Line 2.

“The development pressure at Danforth -- along Greenwood, Donlands -- people have been expecting residential development in that area for 50 years, as soon as the Bloor-Danforth subway was built …. It’s still not happening,” White said.

He argued there are other major socio-economic factors that play into attracting developers to projects. Yonge St. goes through some of the wealthiest neighbourhoods in Toronto, whereas Bloor neighbourhoods, particularly more east, do not have the same level economic affluence, he said.

“I see Bloor St. running through a slightly more complex urban fabric. As the planners would say, socially complex,” he said.

“It’s not that simple. I guess my first thought about this is that Bloor St. is never going to be the new Yonge St.”

Mirvish Village

5 towers, 800 new residential units

Jonah Letovsky, Toronto-based development manager at Westbank, emphasized developers have spent years consulting with the public on the Mirvish Village redevelopment.

“The key for us was not just affordable housing, but also, how do we create commercial space that’s accessible for people? Mirvish Village has a history of accessible artist space.”

Ten per cent of all residential units will be “deeply affordable,” Letovsky said, and will be no different than the other units. A micro-retail program will keep commercial space accessible and affordable for entrepreneurs to “get their foot in the door,” he added.

Bloor and Dundas

The massive, 10-acre development at 2280 Dundas Street W., will have 2,500 residential units and office spaces to employ more than 3,000 people.

10 acres, 2,500 residential units

Bloor and Dundas will be the site of a new development featuring highrise towers with at least 50 per cent rental housing, retail and office space and parks. It will also have enough office space to employ more than 3,000 people, Choice Properties REIT announced Thursday.

The company’s director of development, Joe Svec, said the company is “not a condo developer; we’re a long-term, community builder.”

The area is currently served by the Dundas West subway station, streetcars, buses, the Bloor GO station and the Union Pearson Express.

The consultation began in 2017, and will continue with an open house at the development site on Saturday from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

“We’re starting with a parking lot. We’re not starting with a beloved heritage community asset, so change was inevitable and people really embraced it,” Svec said.

More than 2,800 residential units including 150 affordable residential units, 7.81 acres of the newly expanded Wallace Emerson Park

A car factory-turned-suburban shopping centre will soon be the site of the Reimagine Galleria redevelopment when construction begins next year.

Located in the southwest corner of the Dufferin and Dupont Sts., the redevelopment will expand Wallace Emerson Park and replace Galleria Mall with a residential, retail, and office redevelopment.

Freed Developments and Elad Canada bought the property for $71 million in 2015. Their plan would create 2,846 residential units and 2,696 condos, retail and office space and a new Wallace Emerson Community Centre.

The highest tower would stand at 35 storeys, knocked down from 42 storeys after community consultations. “Tall buildings have been redeployed to create a more sensitive transition to adjacent neighbourhoods,” the project website says.

The proposal prioritizes pedestrian infrastructure, according to the development website, and cycling facilities will be provided. After reviewing plans on the original 2016 proposal for the site, the TTC suggested adding a bus bay to Dufferin, between Dupont and a new diagonal street that would slice through the development. Buses may loop through the redevelopment on a proposed street running through the site.

The western portion of the Galleria Shopping Centre is slated to be demolished beginning in 2019. The project’s final phase is scheduled to be complete in 2030.

Bloor and Dufferin

6 new buildings, 2,219 residential units, 2,511 bicycle parking spaces

Bloor and Dufferin is a “unique city building opportunity to collaborate with a thriving community and create a world-class destination,” according to the redevelopment’s website.

Lead developers Capital Developments and Metropia have pitched a proposal that includes a range of housing, plaza and atrium space and new storefronts at the southwest corner of the Bloor-Dufferin intersection.

Six new buildings, ranging from six to 47 storeys are proposed, according to a City of Toronto staff report from January 2018, as well as 2,219 residential units.

High St., extending from Bloor St. to Croatia St., will be “the grand promenade of the community,” according to the development website. The pedestrian space will be bordered by retail shops and restaurants with patios.

The historic Kent school will be restored and repurposed, according to the development website, potentially as “a community hub, incubators, office space or residential lofts.”

Lower JCT

2,500 jobs, a day-care facility, green spaces and home to 1,000 residents

This eight-acre Junction Triangle development will focus on creating more commercial space than residential space.

Developer Castlepoint Numa plans to provide commercial, office and retail buildings for use at Perth Ave. and Sterling Rd., creating as many as 2,500 jobs, according to 2015 updates on the project. The site will have 564,000 square feet of “mixed-use space” and 540,000 square feet of residential space.

The south end of the Junction Triangle neighbourhood is located between two subway stations and is near the Union Pearson Express and GO Transit. The development will provide a home for 1,000 new residents along with improvements to the community such as a day-care facility, a park and open green spaces.

The Auto Building will continue to be the tallest building of the development at 10 storeys and 60 metres high. The Museum of Contemporary Art is relocating from Queen St. W. to occupy the first two and half floors of the Auto Building.

One of the developer’s projects was Museum Flts, the 168-unit condo was cancelled in late 2017.