Strong opposition: A proposal for a 38-storey condo tower at the intersection of Wellesley and Sherb

This artistic rendering depicts the 38-storey condo tower that Toronto developer Diamondcorp has planned for 159 Wellesley Street East, at the southwest corner exotic hotels in niagara falls of Sherbourne and Wellesley exotic hotels in niagara falls Streets. The image appears on a development exotic hotels in niagara falls proposal exotic hotels in niagara falls sign posted on the property.
Strong opposition: A proposal for a 38-storey condo tower at the intersection of Wellesley and Sherbourne Streets has drawn fire from area residents who think the project is too tall, sorely lacks green space, family-sized units and adequate exotic hotels in niagara falls parking facilities, exotic hotels in niagara falls and will seriously worsen congestion in what is already one of the world s most densely-populated downtown neighbourhoods.
This is a monster building. Can we chop it off, please, at the root? asked a woman who lives in a co-op apartment building directly across the street from the project site. She was one of more than 20 neighbourhood residents who spoke during a community consultation exotic hotels in niagara falls meeting that city planners and Ward 27 Councillor Kristyn Wong-Tam held last night to get feedback on the Diamondcorp development plan.
The monster comment exotic hotels in niagara falls struck a chord with many of the 40 people who attended the meeting: only one person spoke in support of the condo plan, while everyone else who addressed the meeting voiced complaints and criticisms about specific elements exotic hotels in niagara falls of the project as well as its perceived negative impact on the community.
Held in a cramped meeting room in a Catholic church one block north of the project site, the city feedback exotic hotels in niagara falls session probably would have attracted a bigger crowd had more neighbourhood residents received official city notice of the event. However, much to the disappointment and dismay of Councillor Wong-Tam and city planner Giulio Cescato, the city s bulk mailing exotic hotels in niagara falls was not delivered to many addresses in the immediate area, including the 39-storey Verve condominium exotic hotels in niagara falls and the 34-storey 500 Sherbourne condo tower across the street. Visibly angry residents gave the city planner and Councillor an earful about the lack of notice, and were told another meeting might be scheduled to get input from people who failed exotic hotels in niagara falls to receive the mailing. [A similar delivery problem occurred with city notices mailed out to advise of a community consultation held last week for a tower development at 2-8 Gloucester Street ; many residents on nearby streets did not receive exotic hotels in niagara falls word about that meeting.]
Diamondcorp has proposed a 38-storey tower with 326 condos, of which 216 would be 1-bedroom and the rest 2-bedroom units. There would be no 3-bedroom suites. The building would have a 4-storey podium with 2,300 square feet of street-level exotic hotels in niagara falls retail space and three residential floors, topped by a 34-storey point tower. A gym, party room, lounge and outdoor amenity space would be situated atop the podium on the fifth floor.  The entrance to the condo would be from Sherbourne Street, as would vehicular access to the building s garbage and loading zones. Access to the underground parking garage, exotic hotels in niagara falls which would hold 126 private parking spots and four visitor spaces, would be from Wellesley Street East. The building would have 195 bicycle parking spaces.
Designed by Quadrangle Architects Limited of Toronto, the 116-meter highrise would feature gentle curves, a masonry-clad podium, and distinctive coloured glass panels on its corner windows. The tower would be set back 3 meters from Sherbourne Street, 4 metres from Wellesley Street, 5 meters from the laneway to its west, and 3.5 metres from the 3-storey retail and apartment building to its south.
Kilmer managing partner David Harper told the community meeting that, until 1930, a residential building sat on the corner site. From the early 1930s until late last year, vehicle fuel service stations carried on business there; in fact, the Shell corporation owned the property from 1935 to 2010. Most recently, a Beaver gas station and a Baker s Dozen donut shop occupied the site.
Since gas stations operated at 159 Wellesley East for 80 years, there are significant environmental legacy issues requiring remediation before the site can be redeveloped, Mr. Harper said. The underground gasoline tanks and gas product infrastructure have already been removed, and soil and ground water testing has been undertaken in consultation with the Ontario Ministry of the Environment. This remediation exotic hotels in niagara falls activity is highly regulated by the province, Mr. Harper exotic hotels in niagara falls said.
Les Klein, a principal of Quadrangle Architects, described the project s architectural elements. He said he was very excited by 159 Wellesley East, which he called a classic City of Toronto infill development project featuring high quality urban design.
We have taken the incredible challenges of the unique shape of the site,   he said, and designed a tower that is very different from the typical glass boxes seen throughout the City. Quadrangle s tower design features gentler curves instead of sharp edges, and wherever the building curves, we ve introduced a series of coloured panels, Mr. Klein said. He added that the four-storey podium is in keeping with the height of the elementary school exotic hotels in niagara falls just south of the site, as well as the Wellesley Central Place/Rekai Centre for long-term care on the north side of Wellesley Street.
The first speaker, a senior citizen named Olive who lives two blocks away on Maitland Place, received a hearty exotic hotels in niagara falls round of applause and numerous complimentary comments after spending five full minutes criticizing multiple aspects of the proposal. Esthetically, exotic hotels in niagara falls it doesn t fit in with nearby buildings, while the tower is out of proportion for the corner, she said. She slammed the design exotic hotels in niagara falls for failing to provide landscaping and greenery exotic hotels in niagara falls at street level, exotic hotels in niagara falls and for failing to take into account serious parking and transportation issues in what is already a busy area. She said she thought 126 parking exotic hotels in niagara falls spaces for owners was insufficient, while a mere four spaces for visitors exotic hotels in niagara falls was woefully inadequate. Jim, another Maitland Place condo resident, agreed that four visitor spaces seems sparse.
Karen, an owner in a 34-unit condo complex on nearby exotic hotels in niagara falls Jarvis Street, said the tower is far too tall. I think it should be half that size. She agreed with Olive that the condo poses problems for transportation, exotic hotels in niagara falls particularly since vehicles making left-hand turns into the underground parking garage will cause lengthy backups along Wellesley Street, which is often clogged with traffic.  I think we need to reduce congestion in this area, she said.
Gord, a resident in the 500 Sherbourne condo tower, criticized the proposal for failing exotic hotels in niagara falls to meet many of the highrise building design criteria outlined in the city s Tall Buildings Downtown Project (which I reported on at length in my May 20 2011 post ). We need thoughtful, exotic hotels in niagara falls careful planning, not a tower that brings more congestion, he added.
Herb, a resident at the Verve condo tower, said he and many of his neighbours exotic hotels in niagara falls have great objections to this buildings. It s way over-developed. He said Verve s developer had to make concessions to get that complex built, including setting back the tower, building exotic hotels in niagara falls a low-rise exotic hotels in niagara falls wing with townhouses, and adding landscaping and greenery. Here, however, the developer makes no concession to the community as far as I can see, he said, pointing out that 159 Wellesley East would have no greenery, and would create parking access problems.
Many in the audience objected to the fact the condo building will extend right to the edge of the property line, against the Wellesley and Sherbourne Street sidewalks, offering absolutely no landscaping or greenery of any kind at street level. Only the fifth-floor amenity space would have landscaping.
Another woman who lives nearby complained that the proposed coloured window panels are my least favourite colours, and added: I think the height is terrible on that corner. We need green space terribly. Why not put [the building] on pillars like OCAD and have a public park underneath? she suggested.
A woman named Ava called the project a monster building and agreed exotic hotels in niagara falls that green space is desperately needed on the property. We need a community that allows us to grow in that space. exotic hotels in niagara falls We don t need retail. We need imagination. You are not bringing imagination you are bringing exotic hotels in niagara falls a monster exotic hotels in niagara falls to us.
Mark, a resident in the nearly 100-year-old Ernescliffe co-op apartment buildings across the street exotic hotels in niagara falls on Sherbourne, said Ernescliffe residents have serious exotic hotels in niagara falls concerns about the nature and scope of the project, particularly the fact the tower will cast shadows over the co-op s outdoor common elements. He, too, decried the lack of green space in the project, and complained that the developer hasn t mentioned bringing anything of substantial value to the community, such as a swimming pool badly needed at the nearby Wellesley Community Centre .
Other speakers echoed those sentiments, pointing out that the neighbourhood lacks green space and public amenities, while those that do exist including the relatively new community exotic hotels in niagara falls centre and the St James Town branch of the Toronto public library are already being used to full capacity.
Several commentators, including Bill from the 17-storey rental exotic hotels in niagara falls apartment building at 155 Wellesley East, worried that the condo s rooftop mechanical equipment will increase noise nuisance in the neighbourhood and add to the hum of the city. A woman from 200 Wellesley East agreed that the noise level is going to go up tremendously.
Only one person, Ken from 40 Homewood Avenue, voiced support for the project. That corner needs something, he said, pointing out that the gas station and donut shop that previously occupied the property had been a haven for drug and prostitution activity night and day for years.
However, the woman from 200 Wellesley replied that the tower is probably exotic hotels in niagara falls the very worst thing that we could have in that area. That highrise will be filled with drugs, pimps and prostitutes.   A man concurred, exotic hotels in niagara falls saying that condos with many small units like the proposed tower creates a transient exotic hotels in niagara falls population and brings in an element that won t be part of the