IS BLOOR THE NEW YONGE?
The city wants more density on transit lines but builders have been focused downtown. As space runs out, they’re now turning west and experts hope they can ‘get it right’
Toronto’s a city that grows north. That’s been true throughout its history, with density building along Yonge St.
But today, developers are looking west — with five large-scale, highrise condo communities underway along the city’s other major subway line. The developments on and around Bloor St. W. are expected to create roughly 6,000 residential units — bringing in thousands of people — as they’re built over the next decade or more. They’ll reshape communities, add landmarks to the skyline, and they’re just the beginning.
So, is Bloor St. W. the new Yonge St.?
“The density over Yonge has taken so long to get to where it is,” said Graham Haines, research manager at the Ryerson City Building Institute.
While Yonge St. grew to host powerhouse towers emblazoned with bank logos and other major businesses, Bloor St. W. established more of a residential character that developers will now have to work around.
“I think to see that type of concentrated density along Bloor might be more difficult given . . . it’s a much more residential context than we see along Yonge St.,” Haines said.
The city has always been looking to develop along the other major transit artery, Haines said, but developers have been focused downtown. They’re finally starting to look east-west as they run out of space in the core, giving an opportunity to spread out not only where people live, but also where they work.
“Right now, so many people’s commutes are to downtown, and, if we can find ways to put employment opportunities on Bloor, on Danforth, along the subway lines, it gives us an opportunity to help bring jobs closer to where some people live to reduce the strain on the TTC,” Haines said.
However, both Haines and Ken Greenberg, an urban designer and consultant in the public and private sector, say the success of these projects rests on whether developers “get it right.”
This means fewer one-bedroom or studio apartments, and more affordable living space for families.
It’s “not just a matter of plunking tall condos down randomly,” Greenberg said.
He pointed to the Liberty Village condos as an example of what happens when dense buildings aren’t supported by the right community amenities and public space.
Jennifer Keesmaat, the former chief planner for the City of Toronto, said neighbourhoods such as Liberty Village and Cityplace are often criticized for not being walkable or having a strong sense of community, but she sees that changing.
“There’s a process underway to better connect Liberty Village,” Keesmaat said. “It’s getting better woven into the fabric of the city, it’s not there yet,” she said of the main issue with the neighbourhood, namely the low-height and widely spread buildings.
There are also historic mistakes developers should learn from.
“I think we have all those examples, particularly from the ’70s and the ’80s where you’ve got clusters of highrise slabs occurring along transit lines, but really designed as standalone enclaves just providing — whether it was rental housing or condominiums — a certain product without much thought to building neighbourhoods,” Greenberg said.
It requires a shift in conceptualizing design, he explained, with “precinct planning” in mind, not just neighbourhood planning.
The veteran urban planner with more than four decades of experience in North America and Europe is not surprised more people want to live on Bloor and Danforth near transit, calling TTC’s Line 2 “an underutilized resource.” TTC spokesperson Stuart Green said the service monitors and makes adjustments, depending on their resources, as a result of ridership boosts from development.
But Richard White, a planning historian, author, and lecturer at the University of Toronto, doesn’t see development continuing at this level along Line 2.
“The development pressure at Danforth — along Greenwood, Donlands — people have been expecting residential development in that area for 50 years, as soon as the Bloor-Danforth subway was built … It’s still not happening,” White said.
He argued there are other major socio-economic factors that play into attracting developers to projects. Yonge St. goes through some of the wealthiest neighbourhoods in Toronto, whereas Bloor neighbourhoods, particularly more east, do not have the same level of economic affluence, he said.
Mirvish Village 5 towers, 800 new residential units Jonah Letovsky, Toronto-based development manager at Westbank, emphasized developers have spent years consulting with the public on the Mirvish Village redevelopment.
“The key for us was not just affordable housing, but also, how do we create commercial space that’s accessible for people? Mirvish Village has a history of accessible artist space.”
Ten per cent of all residential units will be “deeply affordable,” Letovsky said, and will be no different than the other units. A micro-retail program will keep commercial space accessible and affordable for en- trepreneurs to “get their foot in the door,” he added.
Bloor and Dundas 10 acres, 2,500 residential units Bloor and Dundas will be the site of a new development featuring highrise towers with at least 50 per cent rental housing, retail and office space and parks. It will also have enough office space to employ more than 3,000 people, Choice Properties REIT announced Thursday.
The company’s director of development, Joe Svec, said the company is “not a condo developer; we’re a long-term, community builder.”
The area is currently served by the Dundas West subway station, streetcars, buses, the Bloor GO station and the Union Pearson Express.
The consultation began in 2017, and will continue with an open house at the development site on Saturday from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
Reimagine Galleria More than 2,800 residential units including 150 affordable residential units, 7.81 acres of the newly expanded Wallace Emerson Park A car factory-turned-suburban shopping centre will soon be the site of the Reimagine Galleria redevelopment when construction begins next year.
Located in the southwest corner of the Dufferin and Dupont Sts., the redevelopment will expand Wallace Emerson Park and replace Galleria Mall with a residential, retail, and office redevelopment.
Freed Developments and Elad Canada bought the property for $71 million in 2015. Their plan would create 2,846 residential units and 2,696 condos, retail and office space and a new Wallace Emerson Community Centre.
Bloor and Dufferin 6 new buildings, 2,219 residential units, 2,511 bicycle parking spaces Bloor and Dufferin is a “unique city building opportunity to collaborate with a thriving community and create a worldclass destination,” according to the redevelopment’s website.
Lead developers Capital Developments and Metropia have pitched a proposal that includes a range of housing, plaza and atrium space and new storefronts at the southwest corner of the Bloor-Dufferin intersection. Six new buildings, ranging from six to 47 storeys are proposed, according to a City of Toronto staff report from January 2018, as well as 2,219 residential units.
High St., extending from Bloor St. to Croatia St., will be “the grand promenade of the community,” according to the development website. The pedestrian space will be bordered by retail shops and restaurants with patios.
Lower JCT 2,500 jobs, a daycare facility, green spaces and home to 1,000 residents This eight-acre Junction Triangle development will focus on creating more commercial space than residential space.
Developer Castlepoint Numa plans to provide commercial, office and retail buildings for use at Perth Ave. and Sterling Rd., creating as many as 2,500 jobs, according to 2015 updates on the project. The site will have 564,000 square feet of “mixed-use space” and 540,000 square feet of residential space.