After a much more extensive than average consultation process, it looks like High Park is going to get its first Central Park-style tower.
Early opposition to 1844 Bloor West, which was first submitted to the public in June of 2010, centred on its being glass, its being 14 storeys and its being right on Bloor at the edge of the park, the first condo to do so.
Developer Daniels had bought 13 houses, many of them vacant and most of them dilapidated, to consolidate the 5,000-square-metre site. In response to the concerns, they added masonary to the first floor, and turned the whole building around, so that the 14-storey portion of the U-shaped building wouldn’t butt right up against Bloor. (The two prongs of the 'U' are 8 storeys each.)
Councillor Sarah Doucette says this redesign satisfied city staff and many residents, though one group is still quite vehemently opposed.
"Those 14 floors are now right in from of 22 Oakmount," she says, "which is a 17-storey building, so most of the opposition is coming from 22 Oakmount, which I completely understand."
The proposal went to Etobicoke York Community Council on Tuesday during an evening session designed to allow as many residents to attend as possible.
According to Daniels' development manager Neil Pattison, demolition of the remaining houses will commence "imminently" with construction of the 5.3-density building, on a newly expanded 6,500-square-metre lot, to follow shortly thereafter.
Writer: Bert Archer
Sources: Sarah Doucette, Neil Pattison
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