What People are Saying

Community Wish List

Compiled from the Community Consultation Meeting November 16, 2005
by Nathalie Éthier

Social Concerns

While the wish list may be long, the concerns are relevant. First of all, there needs to be a high degree of sensitivity if local residents and businesses are going to be displaced, as is the case with 48 Abell, which houses 100 tenants in live/work studios. Is it absolutely necessary to demolish the building or can it be maintained and integrated into the development? If demolition is inevitable, is it reasonable to expect a guarantee of affordable housing for displaced tenants? Regardless of the fate of this building, the community wants the new development to contain a mixture of affordable rental and sale units, suitable for a variety of occupants.

A second important factor is the public realm of the development. Some of the residents in the community meeting have a vision for a public square across from the Gladstone Hotel, emphasizing the need for more open spaces and park land along this stretch of Queen Street. Residents want to maintain the pedestrian scale along the street, with an emphasis on a balance between day and evening uses, public and open/safe spaces and opportunities for community gardens and art exhibitions.

It is important that the green spaces are inviting and accessible, and there needs to be potential for commercial/market spaces mixed in at ground level throughout the development. The art and design character of the neighbourhood must be maintained and possibly even enhanced through the redevelopment. Most importantly, the residents want their voices to be heard and ideas incorporated in the redevelopment of their neighbourhood.

Built Form

In terms of built form, the residents expect heights and densities that fit in with the scale of the neighbourhood and architecture that enhances its character; not 10 to 26 storey condo towers in a neighbourhood with current height restrictions of 2 to 5 storeys. Where possible, a mix of building types and preservation/restoration of existing historical buildings is desired, as is innovative design, including sustainable or green architecture.

Suggestions include a 4 storey maximum on Queen Street, town homes or commercial uses at street front with residential above; 5 to 8 storeys in the centre; and no higher than 12 storeys along the rail corridor. The density along the street should be similar to the north side of Queen Street and the building mass should be low. There has also been a request for design guidelines and consistency in building materials.

To accommodate the inevitable population increase resulting from the redevelopment, it is crucial to incorporate bike lanes and transit improvements. Wide sidewalks and generous set-backs along the entire perimeter of the development would add to the pedestrian scale and underground parking and laneway servicing would help to minimise some of the vehicular traffic.
Borrowing from Jane Jacobs (2001), this redevelopment presents the ideal opportunity to incorporate an adaptive neighbourhood with a convertible building form, a designed form of ‘neighbourhood insurance’ into the urban fabric of Toronto. «Row houses can be designed to convert easily and pleasantly to shops, small offices, studios, restaurants, all kinds of things». Urban designers must think of the street anatomy in terms of «providing or encouraging easily convertible buildings on those streets as opportunity to do that arises. This is a practical strategy for dealing with time and change».

More general concerns about the impacts of the redevelopment of the West Queen West Triangle include the potential impact of the proposed Sudbury Street extension; how the increased density and correlating population increase will be accommodated into the existing neighbourhood; how additional pedestrian and vehicular circulation will be accommodated; and the fact that significant increases in building heights and density are being considered when they clearly are not in scale with the rest of Queen Street.

It is also important to consider the dangers of gentrification, which are already visible in the neighbourhood. The ‘golden age’ of gentrification, with the influx of artists, the restoration of the Gladstone Hotel and the opening of The Drake Hotel, has already occurred. Now the neighbourhood faces the threat of more intense gentrification, where inhabitants face eviction, small businesses can no longer afford the escalating rents and developers cash in on the trendiness of the fashionable area (Jacobs, 2001, 6; Hertz, 2005, 3).

Natalie Ethier

Other Comments

(The following comments were also collected at the 16 November 2005 public meeting held by Councillor Giambrone and City Planning staff)

Key issues to incorporate into the development:

• affordable live/work spaces
• maintenance of existing height restrictions
• architecture that fits in with the neighbourhood
• public square across from the Gladstone
• maintenance of art & design character of neighbourhood
• design guidelines and consistency in building materials
• innovative/sustainable architecture and design
• balance between daytime and evening uses
• low building mass on Queen Street
• more parkland and consideration of importance of sunlight
• maintenance of pedestrian scale along Queen Street, emphasis on public and open/safe green spaces...community gardens
• inviting and accessible green spaces with commercial/market spaces mixed in at ground level throughout the development
• mixture of rental and sale units
• bike lanes and traffic control measures
• wide sidewalks and generous set-backs along the entire perimeter of the development
• underground (green P) parking
• 4 storey maximum on Queen Street, town homes or commercial uses with residential above, 5-8 storeys in the centre and no higher than 12 along the rail corridor
• density at street front similar to north side of Queen
• percentage of the development dedicated to the arts
• no displacement of current residents or businesses if possible
• a guarantee of affordable housing for current residents if they are displaced
• a guarantee that our voices will be heard and ideas incorporated into the redevelopment of our neighbourhood

Things to do:

• heritage study
• traffic impact study
• environmental assessment
• view corridors
• more info on infrastructure and support services
• easily accessible public information

General concerns:

• impact of Sudbury Street extension
• increased density and correlating population increase
• how will increased pedestrian and vehicular circulation be accommodated?
• why are higher buildings being considered when they clearly are not in scale with the rest of Queen Street?
• concern about the demolition of 48 Abell. Can it be maintained and integrated into the development?