In Toronto, there’s no shortage of communities battling to keep the surge of condos under control. Sometimes, these groups of people are referred to as NIMBYs (Not In My BackYard) - they just don’t want development in their area, even if the building is appropriate. And other times, the community has legitimate arguments that should be taken into consideration. We think the latter is the case when it comes to Alaska Condos, a condo proposal in Toronto, being developed by Bianca Pollak.

“Why ‘Alaska’?”

The Uptown Yonge Neighbourhood Alliance (UYNA) has started a campaign called “Why ‘Alaska’?”

When we first heard about Alaska Condos and saw the renderings, we knew there would be pushback from the community, but we didn’t hear about it until we saw these signs popping up on lawns, just north of Yonge and Eglinton:

According to UYNA’s website, they understand that “intensification is necessary for the vitality and sustainability of our city.” They just ask that it be done with “sensitivity to the existing context.” Put plainly, they don’t think Alaska Condos will suit the neighbourhood.

Their three main concerns include:

1) Height and density

2) Traffic flow

3) Building design

Normally, we would shrug this kind of pushback off, and just move on, but UYNA has done their research, sourced their facts, and presented their concerns very clearly on their website. We have to hand it to them for being so organized. Usually, a community against a proposal just creates a Facebook page and invites locals to rant about construction noise and shadowing.

The mandatory community meeting will be held in September. It will be interesting to see an organized community make a real argument against a development.

The design of Alaska Condos

We featured Alaska Condos on our blog earlier this month because of its interesting design by Will Alsop and Quadrangle Architects. We would be lying if we said we disliked it - it’s different, and we’re always excited to see new architectural styles proposed for Toronto.

Because it’s so different is why we understand the community’s pushback. Perhaps Yonge and Strathgowan isn’t the place for a condo design as wild as this - the area mostly consists of low-rise brick homes, parks, and tree-lined streets. Alaska Condos might look better and receive less of a fight if it were located closer to downtown.

But who knows, maybe Pollak and her team of great architects will be able to come up with an alternative version that is welcomed by the community.

We will have to wait until September to see how things unfold!

Click here to read more about Alaska Condos.