Volume 44 No. 23
February 23, 2016
DECA builds vision for future of Danforth By Anna Killen
A PICTURE of what Danforth Avenue might look like in the future is beginning to come into focus, with a neighbourhood group preparing to get ahead of a city study considering future development of that neighbourhood. The Danforth East Community Association (DECA) visioning committee has been meeting for several years hosting discussions around the future of the neighbourhood and drawing feedback from consultants, residents, and student groups. Over the last several months, those discussions have been centred on an upcoming city Avenues study on Danforth that will see a vision and clear guidelines laid out for future development of the street. “It’s a once in half a century thing that you really get to take on a street,” said Stephen Wickens, chair of the DECA visioning committee. “Fifty years ago the Danforth changed significantly – the streetcars went out and the subway cars went in.” When that happened, the focus of the street changed a lot, becoming more traffic-centric and less pedestrian-friendly, which had a major impact on businesses. Danforth continues on Page 2
PHOTO: EDWIN LUK/SVPHOTOGRAPHY
Making the best of a slippery situation Zackary, 3, holds on next to sister Audrey, 18 months, under the watchful eye of their mother MJ Biachi. The trio were taking part in Beaches-East York MPP Arthur Potts’ community skate at Ted Reeve Arena on Sunday, Feb. 14.
Development debate intensifies over Kingston Road condo By Anna Killen
A NUMBER of people who attended a recent community meeting in the Beach came prepared to push back against the reason for the meeting: a proposed condo development at Kingston Road and Main Street. The required community consultation meeting on Feb. 8 saw about 25 people turn out to the Beaches Recreation Centre to hear from city planners, staff, and project consultants and architects. City planner Derrick Wong said the meeting, intended to provide information and gather community feedback, was the beginning of a long process and that the final decision would ultimately be made by city council. In order to approve the sevenstorey development as proposed for the northwest side of Kingston and Main, the city would need to amend several bylaws. Preliminary designs, prepared by Hunter and Associates and RAW architects, are for 75 units, 32 underground parking spots, 7,000 square feet of retail
on the ground floor, and a laddered design that is scaled back as it gets taller, providing rooftop patios and units of varying sizes while reducing shadow and overlook. An official plan amendment would also be necessary, as the Kingston-Main corner falls under the “neighbourhood” designation in the City of Toronto official plan. That designation means the building’s height is supposed to be capped at four storeys and retail space is limited. But a number of mixed-use developments are under construction in the area and several other buildings along Kingston Road in the area are taller than four storeys. “If you look at the other staff reports, it’s not a blank slate. It’s not meant to be every policy applicable to each site or each development proposal,” said Craig Hunter of Hunter and Associates. “But there is a pattern of six- to eight-storey buildings, some pure residential and some with retail.” There are also detached homes, duplexes and low-density apartment buildings in the area.
To build the development, the current two-and-a-half storey building on the corner of the site would need to be demolished, leaving a deficit of 11 affordable housing units. To that end, unlike other developments in the area, the proposed development would be required to include 11 units of affordable housing – the meeting heard those rents fall around $830 a month – and mitigate the effects on the current tenants. “There are real constraints and real opportunities for including and creating affordable rental housing in the city,” said Hunter. “It’s the right thing to do and it’s a policy of the city. We’ll be respecting that and replacing those units.” Architect Roland Colthoff detailed how the building would look in relation to the unusual topography of the corner which has a steep slope up Main Street. “This corner of Kingston Road, we think, is a fairly important corner in the urban hierarchy of the city. We think it’s important to your community, we think it should be celebrated,” said Colthoff, noting that the visual emphasis of
PHOTO: ANNA KILLEN
The site of a proposed seven-storey condo development.
the building will be on the corner. “Brick will be a big feature of this building because that is a big feature of your area and it’s important that we reflect the context of the neighbourhood.” Despite requests by Wong for the audience to wait until the presentation was finished before asking questions, residents raised concerns throughout the meeting.
Those concerns included parking – the development would host 32 parking spots for 75 units, nearly a third of the 92 currently required – and increased traffic in the area, with one resident noting that overflow street parking would end up on his street. Kingston Road continues on Page 2
We’ve valued your support for 44 years. Your feedback will help guide us through the next 44.
http://survey.beachmetro.com