Westbank Unveils Design Concept for Bloor and Bathurst Master-Plan
By Lucas on Mar 04, 2015
When we heard that Westbank was unveiling their preliminary design concepts for their Bloor and Bathurst master-plan in Toronto (better known as the Honest Ed’s site), we had to be there. Before we jump into the details that were announced, we should mention that these are still pre-application designs, and the community meeting was hosted by the developer, not the City of Toronto.
The Park Hyatt at Bloor and University was packed with nearly 600 members of the community, media, and other interested parties. Since Honest Ed’s has been around for so long, it was a sad day for some when Mirvish announced that it would be closings its doors for good in 2016. The unique signage and atmosphere of Honest Ed’s have lit up Bloor and Bathurst for over six decades. Since the area is a combination of new and longstanding residents, the preservation of this “historic” building is very important to some, which explains the big turnout.
The whole Bloor and Bathurst team consists of Westbank, Henriquez Partners Architects, Urban Strategies Inc., Reshape Strategies, ERA Architects Inc., and Janet Rosenberg & Studio Inc. Janet Rosenberg and Henriquez Partners Architects lead the presentation of the design concepts.
Westbank approaches every project with the concept of “gesamtkunstwerk,” which is a German term that translates to “life as a total work of art.” The team behind Bloor and Bathurst have come up with a few guiding ideas that have influenced their initial designs.
Mixed Use: There will be a mix of residential, retail, commercial, cultural, social, public, and restaurant space in the community.
Sharing Economy: They are proposing a co-op daycare, a car share program, community gardens, and a large open space for a farmer’s market.
Vibrant Retail/Commercial: There will be a balanced mix of national and local merchants. Honest Ed’s Alley and Mirvish Village Public Market are the primary retail areas. The Bloor and Bathurst team are taking a European approach to the retail frontages, creating a narrow and tall corridor made up of many eclectic merchants in Honest Ed’s Alley.
Mix of Housing: Very important to accommodate singles, couples, and families. There was a collective sigh of relief from the giant crowd when it was announced that the new community would be 100% rental. This is the developer’s way of addressing housing affordability. There will be around 1,000 residential units, over half of which will be two-bedroom or larger, including three- and four-bedroom units.
Heritage: The homes along Markham Street will be restored and the legacy of Honest Ed’s will be honoured in a tasteful manner. Markham Street is proposed to be the heart of the community and be a pedestrian-oriented space that can feature weekend markets, restaurant patios, festivals, and other events. Westbank is also considering whether there should be certain days or months that the street is completely closed to traffic. To pay homage to the famous Honest Ed’s signage, the Bloor and Bathurst team are suggesting that the new retail has signage reminiscent of the 1960s, when the retail aspect of the neighbourhood started booming.
Of Its Time: The architectural design is contemporary, there will be public art included, and the neighbourhood will serve as a new iconic destination point in Toronto. Henriquez Partners Architects has designed an array of building exteriors, which will be applied to approximately 40 buildings across the site. The architect aims to mimic natural growth, as if the section of buildings had been built over a long period of time, as opposed to all at once. The shortest buildings are 2.5 storeys at the corner of Lennox and Markham, and the further northeast you go, the taller the buildings get. There is a six-storey street wall at Bathurst and Lennox, a five-storey wall at Bloor and Markham, and then by the time you get to Bloor and Bathurst, there is a 29-storey “micro tower.” It is called a micro tower because of the small floorplate.
Points of Contact: Bloor and Bathurst will be a community hub that promotes social interaction and collaboration, and have a unique identity. Westbank is proposing a public art program that would commission 10 of the world’s greatest graffiti artists to paint certain sections of the community.
Sustainability and Energy Innovation: Goal is to be the most energy efficient community possible. Westbank plans on making Bloor and Bathurst Canada’s first LEED Platinum neighbourhood. They also want to improve transit accessibility and walkability with vibrant pedestrian promenades.
Urban Mobility: Development will strengthen connections to subways and streetcars, improve cycling infrastructure, reduce vehicle parking, and promote other alternative modes of transportation. There was also suggestion of having plenty of bike storage. end-of-trip facilities, a bike repair shop, and electric vehicle charging stations. They are basically trying to make it as easy as possible to get out of the car and on to a bike.
With all of these guiding factors taken into consideration, these are the designs Westbank presented at the community meeting:
Bathurst elevation looking south
Bloor elevation looking south
Bloor looking north
Lennox elevation looking north
Bathurst and Lennox
Markham Street view from Lennox
Lennox Street and entrance to Honest Ed's Alley
The community’s reaction to the initial Bloor and Bathurst proposal
Westbank is going over and beyond with their community engagement, especially since an application hasn’t even been submitted to the City. They are taking their time with the Bloor and Bathurst plan because they understand how important this corner is to the existing residents of the neighbourhood.
The environment was kind of tense at the beginning when everyone started arriving and the scale model included a 29-storey building. People weren’t expecting that. But once the presentation revealed that there will actually be around 40 buildings and that the residential was all rental, everyone seemed to relax in their seats. It’s not very common to have a community meeting of nearly 600 people and have the majority feel pretty good about a project in its preliminary stages.
That said, there were still some concerns expressed from the crowd. The Bloor and Bathurst team decided it would be easier to take comments on a comment form and they posted the form to their website this morning. So we chatted with a few people to get their opinions on the proposal. Some think that 29 storeys is still too high for Bloor and Bathurst, some are just concerned about construction being a burden for many years. Shadowing was another concern even though the architect explained how they are reducing shadowing with the varying building heights and gaps between structures.
Overall, we have to say we’re pretty impressed by the initial concepts and we think it’s safe to say that the majority of the crowd felt the same way. We can’t wait to see what the Bloor and Bathurst team come up with based on the feedback from this community meeting!
