Dundas Street between University and Yonge

In Toronto, on a small strip of land between two subways stops lies great potential for intense densification.

On Dundas Street between University Ave (St. Patrick station) and Yonge St (Dundas station) there are two blocks on the south side of the street that offer great opportunities for future high rises.

Looking down Dundas from University towards Yonge:


and from the other direction at the same site:


And one block further east looking down Dundas towards Yonge:


and from the other direction:


The location is ideal because of how close it is to two subway stops, as well as its proximity to a major retail centre - Eaton Centre and Yonge-Dundas Square. It is also located on a streetcar line. While these buildings are certainly old, they do not offer certain aesthetic beauty that the buildings on the northside of the street (one block further east) offer:


The two blocks of 2 story buildings should be redeveloped into midrise to tall buildings (15-30 stories) because the neighborhood can support that level of densification in terms of transit and and amenities. The ground floor should contain retail as is currently the case. Because of the tight space available, the buildings will be pushed all the way to the sidewalk, keeping the urban dynamic of the street intact. The base should be about 4 stories tall and the main towers would ideally be fairly skinny, and should possible be placed at an angle to allow for proper light to go between the buildings to the south.

For the towers, a blended use of some office space, as well as residential would be ideal. The city would benefit from some added social housing (3 bedroom units) in the highrises as well. As the city grows it needs to make sure that its working poor are not pushed further into the outskirts of the city. The city benefits from a blend of uses and people from various socio-economic statuses to create a vibrant city centre.

The neighborhood could use a grocery store, but presumably one of the new developments on this strip would contain one. The only major element missing in this burgeoning neighborhood is a park. There are some surface parking lots just north of Dundas in this area and that area would allow for potential greenspace. The city should be able to secure enough section 37 money from the theoretical developers of these two blocks to add park space to a concrete area.

Just down the street from this area of potential redevelopment is one of my favourite new condos in the city, One City Hall:


This building has fantastic scale and relationship with the street. Construction is almost finished and soon retail should occupy the ground level. In Saturday's Toronto Star, this building and area was also given a very positive review.

Right next to this building on Bay Street will be phase two, currently projected to be 50 stories:



This street and neighborhood is rapidly changing. The city has an incredible opportunity to grow right in the middle of its core.

Solar Panels on Public Buildings

For the long term future of municipal governments, including Toronto, it would be a valuable investment to instal solar roofs or green roofs on all of its public facilities where possible - schools, office buildings, or indoor ice rinks and pools.

While initial capital costs would be expensive, over the extended period the city would reduce its need for coal powered energy, creating buildings that are, at the very least, self-sustaining for their energy use. While the provincial or federal governments likely need to supply the capital costs, setting aside capital costs for solar and green roofs supports their efforts towards meeting energy efficiency demands and other guidelines like the Kyoto protocol. This support and infrastructure looks good to voters, and citizens will see the long-term investment in their community.

There are currently many projects in Toronto currently in the works and finished:

Sick Kids Hospital - "Canada's first hospital-based solar thermal energy site to be installed at SickKids"

Toronto Schools to Power Up Rooftops

City of Toronto: Green Roof Pilot Program

List of examples of green roofs in Toronto

Green Roof Planned for Victoria Park Subway

Montreal

I have returned froma weekend in Montreal and noticed several things that the city did right.

The street furniture on Sherbrooke is fantastic - planters are built into them, and they feature an interesting design. The benches are nice, cozy, and shaded by the trees on the street.



In a couple areas of Montreal, the street and sidewalk were forged together, creating an area that was mainly for pedestrians, but also allowed for cars. The cars are forced to drive more slowly, as the whole street is essentially a sidewalk.



Two or three parking spaces were removed in a street to allow for bike parking.



On a one way street, a whole lane was taken out that was strictly for bikes. The cars next to the bike lanes were parked.This kind of development could easily be done on a road like Adelaide or Richmond through downtown Toronto. It would create a nice bike thoroughfare.



And Habitat was beautiful and fascinating. On its own, it is an incredible piece of dense housing and architecture (and a neat place to live). It is impossible to tell where one unit ends and another begins. What is not told in these pictures, however, is that Habitat is severely isolated on a peninsula. It is virtually impossible to walk there and is located on what is essentially a highway. While it may be served by buses, it is unfortunately not easily accessible.

Boutique Hotel in the Distillery

It has been announced that the building at the northeast corner of Trinity and Mill Street known as Rackhouse D (adjacent to the block I wrote about in my previous post) is destined to become a boutique hotel. This is an excellent addition to the area and will surely contribute to its growth as a community. A hotel will contribute to the life of the community - people will be in and out of the neighborhood at all times and as a boutique hotel housed in a historic building, it offers a unique alternative to the concrete blocks in downtown.

Between King Street and the Distillery District

The Distillery District is growing everyday. One skyscraper is nearly finished and another (and possibly another) are expected to start growing on-site in the next couple of years. With this influx of people and the continual increase of tourist traffic to the area, it is very important that the area expand properly towards King Street into the Corktown neighborhood. Right now it is very isolated.

One location adjacent to the Distillery that is ripe for improvement is the area bound by Eastern Avenue on the north side, Trinity Street on the east side, Mill Street on the south side, and Parliament on the west side. The majority of this block is currently being taken up by a car sales lot and sales centre, with a couple of smaller buildings on two corners. There’s nothing to attract developers like a paved over lot and there is nowhere to go but up.



What the Distillery needs is a connection to the rest of the city, preferably via Parliament, since that is where the main streetcar stop is located. This block can provide an excellent entrance and gateway to the Distillery, as well as add to the Distillery’s charm.

The first thing I would do is to take this large block and cut it into four pieces. The smaller blocks would make the area feel more connected to the Distillery as its blocks are also small and would make the area very walkable and much more interesting.

The two new streets that would cut through the street would be one-way streets, would be smaller than normal, and would provide only a handful of parking options for the mornings. They would be cobblestoned to match the Distillery. They would be designated pedestrian streets on weekends. There would be a small handful of street parking spaces for quick deliveries and drop offs that would drop inbetween the tree lined sidewalk on one side of the street. Any major delivery areas would be placed on Eastern avenue and car traffic would be funneled out this area.

Underneath the north side of the block on Eastern would be an entrance to the underground parking lot. I do recognize that the Distillery District does lack parking. This is a necessary evil, especially as nightlife grows in the area. This underground lot would serve the Distillery area. The King streetcar is frequent and does allow for easy access to the subway and does provide the main means of transportation to the area.

The density of this block should be 8-10 stories, however the base of all the buildings should retain a 3-4 story height with the remaining stories to be recessed to allow light into the streets at various times of the day. The reason I chose 10 stories is that it allows for good medium growth. Buildings that are 2-3 stories will not provide enough office space and residential space to keep ground level commercial businesses open during the day and evening.

The area is not equipped with proper mass transit to handle an excess of 30 story towers. While the King streetcar does run frequently, it does not have the capacity to handle an extended influx of people. (for extensive analysis on the King car visit this site) The streetcar is often flooded during rush hour times as it stands. The streetcar has capacity during more offpeak times and could sustain more medium growth along the line. Building a blend of office, residential and commercial space along the line would mean that people would be moving on the streetcar at all times of the day. In time, a streetcar along Cherry street that will run along Queens Quay will offer some respite from the King car, however that will likely not happen until a majority of the West Donlands area has been built and regardless, the Cherry car will be built to handle the West Donlands area, which is also currently zoned for 10 story buildings.

The Distillery is already going to stick out like a sore thumb with 30 story towers growing out of it. Along with the 10 story housing complexes along The Esplanade west of the Distillery, this block of 8-10 story buildings will ease the Distillery into the rest of the city gracefully.

On the corner of lot at Mill Street and Trinity, an original building from the Distillery currently exists. This building will not leave the site, but should be refurbished and may be expanded upon. It is very important that this building be retained as a heritage building. It offers much in terms of the feel of the area and simply cannot be replicated. It is a beautiful building. It will hopefully be restored and used as office space or commercial ventures as much of the Distillery space is.

I imagine that since the lot will be sliced into four, in all likelihood each of the four new sections would be only one building. It would be most appropriate that the ground level serve for commercial purposes, and that two of the four buildings be zoned for offices. It is crucial that the area is zoned for some offices. With the office workers in the area, the Distillery and this block would greatly benefit from an increase in people during the daytime hours. The restaurants and stores do well in the summer, but in the winter they suffer from the lack of tourists and rely on those few that do work in the area.

It would be valuable to keep the ground level businesses in the same vein of Distillery businesses – locally owned and operated and no chain stores. The area would only increase its cache and interest as an artist-friendly neighborhood. The area is in need of a grocery store and bank – these amenities are coming in the new complex currently being built in the Distillery. The commercial ventures would be wise to include small performance spaces to increase evening traffic to the area, which makes for a safer and more vibrant place. Not all of the ground level windows need to be commercial ventures, but if the area is going to establish itself as the greater Distillery district and to remain walkable, it would serve itself well to have stores and restaurants (that are are open late into the evening) on ground level so that people may obliged to meander between King Street and the Distillery.


Looking East from Parliament and Mill Street. The new Distillery development is on the right:



Looking North from Trinity and Mill Street. The Heritage Building is on the left:



Looking South from Trinity and Eastern Ave. The in-construction Distillery tower is in the background:

In the Beginning

My goal with this blog is to post weekly on a subject relating to the development and growth of Toronto (and other cities, as I see fit). I anticipate including pictures, as well as commenting on current issues facing Canadian cities.

I do not consider myself an expert by any means, but I do read a lot on the subject of geography and urban planning.

I have started this process by identifying spaces that all involve Toronto and specificly refer to certain locations and what I think could be done to improve the area. I have only lived in Toronto for a year but have developed a deep enthusiasm and belief in the city that if enough people love the city it will love them back tenfold.

My topics currently include:

-The Distillery District and the condo developments therein
-The area between the Distillery District and King Street
-The West Don Lands development and transit
-The transition of Queen Street East
-Intersection of Queen Street East and Sherbourne
-Bloor & Bathurst - Honest Ed's redevelopment
-Queen Street East between the Don Valley Parkway and Broadview
-CityPlace on the Waterfront
-King Street Streetcar right-of-way
-Queen West Triangle
-Bike lanes on Bloor
-Bike friendly passages through the city
-King Street East - store closings and the growth of George Brown College
-Solar panels and green roofs on Public Buildings
-Retrofitting old buildings for energy efficiency
-Densification of the Annex and NIMBYs
-Affordable housing

This list will surely grow and change, but is a good start for now.