City Building : Development News

The City of Pickering released a report last week that will determine the direction of much of its future development.

Generically titled Measuring Sustainability Report, it sets out 32 criteria by which the sustainability of development in the city may be measured.

"It's getting the ground rules established," says Tom Melymuk, director of Pickering's office of sustainability. "If you take a green building program, how can we incent that? Once you start measuring how well you're doing, you can start focusing on areas where you're not doing as well and develop an action plan."

There is no schedule, or any action plans in place yet, and Melymuk refers to the report as a framework for the future.

As it was described in the city's press release, "The indicators range from those that reflect the quality of Pickering's air and water, to those that reflect the City's progress towards being an inclusive and welcoming community, with healthy employment opportunities."

Writer: Bert Archer
Source: Tom Melymuk

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Dogs can take to the rainy streets with more confidence starting this month thanks to Toronto Hydro's handwell replacement program, currently being rolled out across the six neighbourhoods in greatest need.

Handwells are the infrastructural hubs beneath those little metal discs in sidewalks that have made the news in recent years after electrocuting a couple of dogs due to worn or damaged wiring.

"I think anything that will help reduce the incidents of contact voltage is good for the city, says Toronto Hydro spokeswoman Denise Atallah.

The program, which is replacing 1,200 of the metal discs with ones made of non-conducting polymer concrete, began in May along the Danforth and Riverdale and will continue through 2011 in the Port Lands, Corktown, High Park, the Junction, Roncesvalles, South Kingsway, Lawrence Village and the Annex.

According to Atallah, it takes about half a day to replace each handwell, which houses the wiring needed for street lights, traffic lights and other municipal electricals. The handwells were originally installed during the 1950s and 60s when much of the city's wiring was transferred underground.

The program will continue after the initial neighbourhoods are complete, ultimately replacing a total of 2,300 handwells.

Writer: Bert Archer
Source: Denise Atallah

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An extraordinary rental development, built in Rosedale 1927, is in the process of being renovated and condofied and will go on sale this Friday.

Ancroft Place, a collection of 21 town houses on one side of a street facing south towards a ravine, have been rental properties ever since their construction, though the property's second owner, Thomas Kellner, had received approval for a condo conversion back in 1987, an approval he never acted on, though it remained in force when, after his death and that of his wife, the property was bought by Canlight Realty.

"The fact that it was registered as a condominium meant we could renovate the units," says Canlight president Vernon Shaw. "It enabled us to spend the kind of money and do the kind of things that no landlord would ever dream of doing."

After taking possession in April, Canlight began renovations on the exteriors. "It looks like an incredible war zone today with all the trades," Shaw says.

The homes which range in size from 1,890 square feet to 2,700 and in price from $1,175,000 to $1,395,000 will undergo extensive interior renovations as they're purchased. The tenants, all still in residence, have been given the opportunity to buy their units and Shaw suspects maybe three or four of them will.

The history of the development, along with the fact of 21 heritage Rosedale homes are coming on the market for the first time, may result in quite quick sales.

"In my fantasy, that what happens," the British-accented Shaw says. "But a lot of my fantasies don't come true I've noticed."

Writer: Bert Archer
Source: Vernon Shaw

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The city's swing towards intensification, embodied in such recent projects as Lippincott Living, 12 Degrees and several Streetcar developments, continues this summer as 83 Redpath opens its doors.

Designed by Sweeny Stirling Finlayson & Co. Architects Inc. for the Benvenuto Group (which also owns the recently condofied Benvenuto), the project replaced a 19-storey 70s slab with an 80-car surface parking lot attached into a 22-storey tower with townhouses, a condo-rental combo that more than doubles the site's coverage density, from 2.0 to 4.56, and increases the number of units on the 1.6 acres south of Eglinton and west of Mt. Pleasant from 185 to 397.

The original building also had 57 bachelor suites and 36 two-bedroom units, while the current configuration eliminates bachelors and increases the number of larger, more family-friendly suites to 60 (each of which has a den in addition to the two bedrooms).

"We actually made the street a lot more urban, a lot more interesting, a lot more pleasant," says architect Dermot Sweeny. In addition to having space for 38 visitor bicycles on the ground level as well as scores of underground spots for residents' bikes, Sweeny also points out that none of the townhouses have driveways.

"We're seeing a tremendous decline in demand for parking," Sweeny says." As the cost of living in an urban situation go up, there is a new generation that is dropping the cars, which is fabulous, and we've got to support them."

Writer: Bert Archer
Source: Dermot Sweeny

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CORRECTION: This story originally stated the development would run from 185-212 Mt. Pleasant.

As the new Four Seasons towers on Bay Street get the first of their glass cladding, the old Four Seasons on Avenue is finally on the verge of sliding into history.

On May 18, the Ontario Municipal Board ruled that developer Menkes current plan, for two residential towers, one 133 metres, the other 127 metres, on an 18 metre podium for two storeys of retail space, can go ahead.

There had been some controversy about the height, with opposition both from the city and the provincial government due to the effect towers of this high here would have on the north-looking view of the Ontario Legislature. The city had proposed a slightly lower plan, of 116 metres for the south tower and 99 metres for the north, but it was rejected.

According to the city's planning department, the next step in the process is for Menkes, which is building the new Four Seasons as well, to get what's known as a site plan approval, which involves plans on how garbage will be collected, where fire hydrants are going to go, landscaping, etc. "They're also required to submit a construction mitigation plan," says Louis Tinker with the city's planning office, though he says with the OMB's decision, the rest is just figuring out the details.

There's no word yet on when demolition and construction might begin.

Writer: Bert Archer
Source: Louis Tinker

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The towers being built by Concord Adex at CityPlace have a few things in common, including low starting prices, a range of smaller units, and a lot of investors buying them either to rent or to flip. It's created a lively marketplace down there, by several definitions of the term.

Plazacorp's new West Harbour City development at Fleet and Bathurst is a different animal. The average unit size for Phase I is 900 square feet, and though there are units that sell in the mid-$200s, the standard is larger and less aimed at the investor/renter market.

"It's really an end-user market we went after," says Plazacorp VP Scott McLellan, "because of the sheer size of the units."

Built on the site of the old Molson Brewery, this 36-storey tower has just opened its doors to residents, adding 469,000 square feet of residential space to the city's booming southern end.

The building, which will consist of two towers sharing a single podium, was designed by Les Klein, the Quadrangle architect known for his plan to turn the Gardiner Expressway into a green-ribbon park. It's distinguished from its CityPlace neighbours through an extensive use of pre-cast concrete, giving the project a much different look from the standard glass fa�ades that characterize the area.

There will be a small amount of retail on the ground floor, though no clients have been signed yet. The space is currently being used as a sales office for Phase II.

Writer: Bert Archer
Source: Scott McLellan

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Construction has begun on 115 Dupont, the last component of the 13-unit 113 Dupont project built by Ken Zuckerman of Zinc Construction.

"It's the only single-family detached house that we'll have there," says Zuckerman of the plan for the leftover piece of land from the 113 townhouse development.

The house, by RAI Architect, features high ceilings in a two-storey loft design. "The second floor will look down on the first floor, with a bridge across the two halves (of the upper floor) to get to two bedrooms," Zuckerman says, calling it "pretty dramatic, pretty interesting."

The residence will also feature a 2,200 square foot roof-top terrace. He estimates the cost will be about $2.9 million.

"I think we've changed the area with the quality of what we did and the people that live there," Zuckerman says of the formerly orphaned strip of Dupont east of Davenport.

Writer: Bert Archer
Source: Ken Zuckerman

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12 Degrees, one of most hotly anticipated new condo developments this season, partly a result of John Bentley Mays' glowing review of the design, is finally launching on Saturday, May 29.

Part of a new breed of developers specializing in infill rather than large towers, BS�R is staking its reputation on this project, their first.

The architect is Core's Charles Gane, who was also responsible for Peter Freed's 75 Portland and Fashion House, as well as 169 John St., the last condo in the area to be built before 12 Degrees, tucked in just behind the Umbra store.

"Homeowners will really feel the unique attributes of the location when they step out of their front door and get that immediate sense of being in a true urban neighbourhood," BS�R principal Tyler Hershberg says of the building's Queen and Beverly location in anticipation of the launch.

In addition to the 90 units on 11 floors, there will be rooftop gas barbeques and a private dining room and lounge available for all residents.

Writer: Bert Archer
Source: Tyler Hershberg


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Though you may not have noticed it, the King Edward Hotel, one of Toronto's most redoubtable, has been in limbo for years.

Once owned by a consortium that included Lehman Brothers, which planned a major overhaul, it's been on the market for a couple of years now, But even beyond that, it's third, fourth and fifth floors, once commercial fashion space, have been utterly vacant for a decade. But a new partnership, including Dundee Realty, has bought the hotel and at the beginning of June will launch their $20-million plan for 140 condos to be tucked into those three floors.

"For some purchasers, this will be seen as the quintessential pied � terre," says Jason Lester, chief operating officer for Dundee, who expects it to be popular with down-sizers as well.

In addition to its historic location, and the fact that it's in a hotel and all that will entail, the condos will actually be relatively reasonably priced -- suites will start in the low $400s --  putting the project in a different, more accessible category then the other hotel condos going up around town.

Though there will be no structural renovations, the partnership does plan to redo the lobby into a lobby-bar. It's also currently asking City Council whether they'll be able to restore six King Street balconies � three on the third floor and three on the fifth -- that were part of the hotel's original design.

The Consort Bar, one of the city's favourite old-style hotel bars, will probably stay in its current form.

Renovation and construction is planned to begin in January, with a completion date in the summer of 2012. The hotel will remain open throughout.

Writer: Bert Archer
Source: Jason Lester

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The area that's become Liberty Village was never meant to be as popular as it's become. As a result, it's 1911 power grid is being taxed, limiting the amount of growth potential the neighbourhood has. So Toronto Hydro is investing $2.5 million in upgrading the system.

"The project essentially will accommodate the area's growth as new customers connect to the gird," says Denise Atallah, Toronto Hydro's spokeswoman. "The new equipment will also provide more reliable service to the area."

The new equipment includes new poles and higher voltage transformers.

Crews have been on the site since February, and work should be completed by August.

For those who keep track of such things, the current voltage is 4.16kV, and the proposed voltage for the upgrade is 13.8kV, with 4,000 kVA worth of load being transferred onto the new system

Writer: Bert Archer
Source: Denise Atallah


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Sales quotas have been reached and the vacant plot is being prepared for construction of the King West condominiums, the Plazacorp development that, with its 1,117 units, will be adding a whole new village to Liberty Village.

With construction set to begin this summer, and to be completed sometime in 2013, the large, three-tower, single-podium building will not only be adding between 2,000 and 2,500 people to the neighbourhood.

"The way it's designed, with the towers and a podium, the residents are getting a half acre of rooftop garden," says Nestor Repetski, spokesman for the project.

King West was sold and is being built in three phases, and will be spread out between 65 and 85 East Liberty Street. Designed by Quadrangle Architects, who are also responsible for the Village's Toy Factory Lofts.

The three towers will be 25 storeys each.

The project has been a long time coming, having been first proposed in 2004, 9 years before it's current scheduled completion.

Writer: Bert Archer
Source: Nestor Repetski

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The enormous River City development planned for the West Don Lands, to be developed by Urban Capital Property Group, received one of the top prizes at this year's BILD Awards.

Named the best building design in the high-rise category (Edgemere won the low-rise category), River City was designed by Montreal's Saucier + Perrotte Architects and Toronto's ZAS Architects.

When completed between 2017 and 2020, River City will be a five-building development with 900 condominiums south of King Street between River Street and the Don. It is being built to LEED Gold standards, with a plan for it to be, with offsets included, carbon neutral.

The first phase is expected to begin construction early next year and completed early in 2012. It will consist of one five-storey, 100-unit building and one 15-storey, 230-unit building. Daily Commercial News estimates the ultimate construction cost of the project to be $150 million.

The BILD Awards are given out by the Building Industry and Land Development Association, a GTA residential building, development and renovation industry association.

Writer: Bert Archer
Source: Waterfront Toronto

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Though it won't launch till May 29, 12 Degrees, a new condo planned for Beverly and Queen, is already getting some interest on and offline, due to its design, its low-rise stature and, of course, its location.

At 11-storeys, the 90-unit building is part of a new wave of development in the city, urban infill that joins communities rather than building new ones.

It's the first project for the BS�R Group, a collection of young builders headed by Tyler Herschberg and Tarek Sobhi, with various sorts of previous experience.

"We're not looking to create the next Liberty Village," says Hershberg. "We're looking to put proper density and intensification into areas where people want to live."

The site is an odd collection of properties, all bought from the same Swiss family, including some rental housing, some commercial property and a couple of laneways.

The demolition schedule depends on the pace of sales, but since it's a relatively small-scale building, Hershberg expects it to be completed roughly 18 months after they begin construction.

The building takes its name from the fact that above the podium, the first layer of four storeys in this corkscrewing building, designed by Core Architects with interiors by it-firm Munge Leung, will be shifted 12 degrees off the building's north-south axis.

12 Degrees will also feature a full-size roof-top pool.

Units will go from the $300s to just over a million for a three-bedroom.

Writer: Bert Archer
Source: Tyler Herschberg


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This Saturday, Tridel will be launching its next project, an uncharacteristically mid-rise 9-storey building called Blythwood at Huntington at Bayview and Lawrence.

With 120 suites, "it's definitely a high-end luxury building," says Tridel spokesman Samson Fung.

The suites will range from 900 square feet up to just under 3,000 and will cost from the mid-$500s to about $2.5 million.

According to Fung, the building will follow previous Tridel projects in going for LEED certification Fung says they're fairly confident they'll get at least silver, "but we're going to go for gold."

Designed by Kirkor Architects, the building is the first of two that will ultimately make up what Tridel is calling the Huntington community. The other will be named Sherwood at Huntington.

Fung says that, depending on sales, construction will probably begin next year, with an occupancy goal of early 2013.

Writer: Bert Archer
Source: Samson Fung


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Mississauga is getting its biggest LCBO next week, a 16,000 square foot location with 11,000 square feet of selling space at Eglinton and Glen Erin Drive at the Erin Mills Town Centre.

"Mississauga is a growing area," says LCBO spokesman Chris Layton. "We're trying to go to more freestanding locations with better visibility. It affords more space, an adequate levels of parking, And in the case of Eglinton, we expect quite a bit of walk-in traffic."

The store will have 3,000 different products for sale, including 800 under the Vintages rubric.

The latest of a string of large-format stores to go up around the GTA, the Mississauga location has cost about $1.4 million to construct.

Writer: Bert Archer
Source: Chris Layton


Do you know of a new building going up, a business expanding or renovating, even a cool new house in the neighbourhood? Please send your development news tips to [email protected].