Planning is a collaborative effort
By Lucas on Nov 13, 2012
By Sam Reiss
If you’ve ever tried to deal with the bureaucratic process, you know just how multi-layered and dense government regulations can be. Builders know better than anyone. But lest you think wealthy developers and government red tape are running roughshod over poor, downtrodden citizens, take heart.
Before official plans or zoning by-laws can be amended, municipalities are required to hold public consultation, both for developer-initiated amendments and City-initiatied amendments. You may have seen these “Statutory Public Meeting” signs at proposed construction sites around the city.
Urban Toronto reports this week that one such recent meeting had a major impact on a developer’s plans. Daniels Corporation is developing HighPark Condominiums at 1844 Bloor St. W., and nearby residents had a few bones to pick. First (and very common) was height, but there were also concerns about massing and building materials, specifically a lack of masonry and an abundance of windows the residents felt didn’t fit in with the surroundings.
After the public meeting, Daniels made substantial changes to its plan, including increasing setbacks to reduce shadowing on the neighbourhood, fritting balcony glass to mitigate bird-strike (a problem in High Park), and incorporating considerably more masonry to help the structure blend in better with its context.
I’m not usually a fan of design by committee, but I like the changes. The additional brick really does warm up the development; instead of looking rather plunked-down, the project now looks like something that may have grown organically and elegantly from its west end surroundings.
These meetings are a crucial way for residents, residents’ associations and assorted other stakeholders (such as Business Improvement Areas) to have their say — and make that say count.
***
Sometimes the complexities of a project make it hard to get a firm grasp on where everything will be and how each aspect relates to everything else — parking lots, towers, podiums, retail space, historical facades, entrances, courtyards … I remember visiting the FIVE Condos at 5 St. Joseph sales office and finally making sense of this extensive development (which, just to add to the confusion, incorporates various historical elements, some in their entirety) only when I finally saw the architectural scale model.
King Blue Condominiums on King Street West is another complex, multi-faceted project. The mixed-use development will incorporate two towers, a podium, an historic façade, retail at grade, an Easton’s Group hotel, lots of fancy amenities, and the new Theatre Museum Canada. The mind boggles.
It can now boggle a little less, as an architectural scale model has sprung up at the presentation centre. These models are truly works of art in their own rights (and there are whole firms devoted to making them), and all by themselves are worth a visit. In spite of its diminutive size, it offers a glimmer of the grand scale of this project, as well as a more relatable look at how the Westinghouse façade will be incorporated. I’m still not sure they’ve quite done the job there — it does look like something of an afterthought — but the complex overall is impressive. The towers are pretty staid — I’m counting on Daniel Libeskind’s L Tower to really liven things up on that front — but the podium has some contemporary graphic interest, and the sheer number of courtyards, pools, decks, terraces, and whatnot is staggering.
Next time you wander past a presentation centre — and how can you not wander past a few when downtown these days? — pop in and check out the sculptural artwork of the scale models. If a floorplan and a catchy press release can’t convince you to invest, these little beauties definitely have a shot.
***
Country-wide, new home construction continues its slower pace, with 17,507 homes entering the construction phase in October, according to CMHC, a 7% drop over the same time last year; the slowdown is especially evident in multiple-start projects such as condos, which were down 11.4%. All regions were affected, with Quebec and the Prairies in particular bringing down the national average; home sales were down 16.7% in Vancouver and 7.1% in Toronto.
