Bloor West Village Residents Association

June 28, 2005

Bill Saundercook
Councillor, City of Toronto
100 Queen St. W., Suite C46
Toronto, ON
M5H 2N2

Dear Councillor Saundercook:

On behalf of the membership of the Bloor West Village Residents Association (BWVRA) I wish to thank you for your role in facilitating the organization of community meetings to review the proposed redevelopment of the former Odeon Humber theatre property at 2442 Bloor Street West.

I also wish to thank you for your energetic support of the Bloor West Village Urban Design Study, commonly referred to as the Bloor West visioning study, and your public endorsement of the recommendations of the report. I mention this important document because by dint of its location the Odeon site warrants a specific reference (see pgs 31-33 of the report) as being a “critical view terminus (which) demands architectural excellence.”

Under the title Design Principles/Initiatives for this key location the report further recommends that gateway treatments on key buildings remain in character with existing structures.

Regarding height, the report identifies the Odeon site as one for which “development may be considered that exceed(s) the permitted building heights in the zoning by-law,” i.e. five stories, but only “up to a maximum of eight stories …” But only even then with the significant caveat that “the development will be expected to demonstrate that it will (1) have no adverse impacts; (2) result in a benefit to the local community; and (3) exemplify the highest possible quality and design.”

On June 21 the executive of the BWVRA met to review site plans and images of the proposed redevelopment. I thank you for providing us with these important documents. After considerable discussion the executive reached several conclusions which we intend to communicate to the membership of our association.

In respect to the redevelopment of the Odeon Humber site the executive is concerned principally with the proposed design and height of the development. As currently proposed the development features blank, concrete walls on its east and west frontages. In our view this does nothing to enhance the “terminus / gateway” features of Bloor West Village. This type of vacant exterior design also invites the possibility of garish advertising on the facades and the real possibility of adjoining buildings at comparable heights and questionable design.

It is the view of the BWVRA executive that whatever final development occurs on the site must restrict advertising to storefronts and prohibit roof-top and wall advertising, as recommended in the visioning study.

At the currently-proposed 10-storey height, the development exceeds the recommendation contained in the visioning study which you have publicly endorsed. The majority view of the
executive is that the height of the proposed development be restricted to no more than eight stories if all other conditions are met as described in Appendix A of the visioning study.

The BWVRA welcomes the opportunity to meet with the property developer in advance of further municipal approvals to discuss our concerns. I believe that you, as our city councillor, can play an important role in facilitating this meeting. I invite you to contact me at your earliest convenience to confirm this meeting.

Sincerely,

Gregory Hamara
Chair

Toronto explores Design Review to raise quality of development and public spaces

“As a City we must learn to despise mediocrity. We can’t accept what we’ve accepted in the past. Good enough is no longer good enough,” stated Mayor Miller in his opening remarks at the Architecture and Urban Design Awards on May 16, 2005.

The Mayor spoke passionately of his commitment to improve the quality of development in Toronto to inspire and elevate the quality of life for citizens, promising a “peer review process.”
Toronto is often compared to other cities such as Vancouver and Montreal where design review panels are credited as the reason for the superior design of their public realm. Realizing its unique political environment, the City is considering the adoption of a design review panel to enhance the quality of buildings and public spaces in Toronto.

The City of Toronto, in association with the Canadian Urban Institute, Toronto Society of Architects and Ontario Association of Landscape Architects, will host a two-part symposium with international and local experts, developers, design professionals, politicians and the public,
to discuss Design Review for Toronto.

PART I – ticketed event
June 29, 7:30 – 11:30 a.m.

Canadian Urban Institute (CUI) Urban Leadership Breakfast Session
“Lessons from Other Places”
33rd Floor, Sutton Place Hotel, 955 Bay Street
Session chair: Allan Leibel, Co-Chair, Goodmans LLP
Participants:
1. Ted Tyndorf, Chief Planner, City of Toronto, City Planning
2. Robert Freedman, Director of Urban Design, City of Toronto, City Planning
3. Leo deSorcy, Program Manager, Urban Design, City of Toronto, City Planning
4. Larry Beasley, Co-Director of Planning and Director of Current Planning, City of Vancouver
5. Adrian Sheppard, Architecture and Urbanism Committee, City of Montreal
6. Joanna Averley, Director of Enabling, CABE Program, United Kingdom
7. David Carlson, Boston Civic Design Commission, Boston Redevelopment Authority
8. Joe Berridge, Urban Strategies, Toronto Waterfront Revitalization Corporation Design Review Panel

PART II – free – open to the public who register by calling 416-338-0338 (TTY 416-338-0889)
June 29, 7 – 9 p.m.
Moderated Panel Debate “Toward a Made in Toronto Solution”
Isabel Bader Theatre, 93 Charles Street West
Session Moderator: Adam Vaughan, City TV

Participants:
1. Mayor David Miller
2. Ted Tyndorf and Robert Freedman – will present an outline of the current development review process, and a proposal for incorporating design review
3. Larry Beasely Co-Director of Planning City of Vancouver
4. Julia Gersovitz, City of Montreal
5. Joanna Averley, Director of Enabling, CABE, England
6. David Carlson, Boston Civic Design Commission, Boston Redevelopment Authority
7. John Smit, Ottawa Downtown Design Review Pilot Project
8. Councillor Kyle Rae, City of Toronto
9. Joe Berridge, Urban Stragegies, Toronto Waterfront RC Design Review Panel
10. Michael Kirkland, Kirkland Partnership, Niagra Falls Design Review Panel
11. Allan Leibel, Co-Chair, Goodmans LLP
12. Anthony Coombs, City Formation International
13. Brigitte Shim, Shim Sutcliffe Architects
14. Alan Vihant, Vice President, Concord Adex Toronto
15. Cynthia Wilkey, South East Downtown Economic Redevelopment Initiative (SEDERI), West Don Lands Committee, Income Security Advocacy Centre (ISAC)

A reception will follow the evening session to promote a further exchange of ideas and to provide an opportunity for the media to interview participants.

Further information is available online at
www.toronto.ca/planning/designsymposium.htm

Make your views known on the proposed redevelopment of the Odeon Humber site at 2442 Bloor Street W. by attending a public meeting on Tuesday June 28 at St. Pius X Catholic School, located on Jane Street north of Bloor, starting at 7 pm.

This is the third and final public meeting to present details and site designs of the redevelopment proposal which will see a 10-storey mixed commercial-residential development on the property of the former Odeon Humber theatre. Two previous public meetings, in May and October, 2004, were well attended and provided Bloor West Village residents with opportunities to voice their views on the developers’ proposal.

You can view a plan of the redevelopment proposal by visiting the constituency office of city councilor Bill Saundercook at 17 St. John’s Road. Call Coun. Saundercook at 416-338-5165 for more details or write to him at Councillor_Saundercook@toronto.ca

In preparation for tonight’s public BWVRA meeting, we’ve developed a short backgrounder on the New Deal for Cities.

You can view the backgrounder as a Word document (2 pages, 117kb) if you’d like to print it, or click “read the rest of this entry” to see it online.

Read more »

The next BWVRA meeting will be June 20th at 7 pm at Runnymede United Church.

The topic is “The New Deal for Toronto” with guest speaker Mayor David Miller. The Mayor will speak on the federal and provincial governments’ moves on developing a new funding deal for the city. There will also be a Question and Answer session with the audience.

All members of the community are welcome to join us for this event on Monday evening!

There has not been much public input yet into the proposed new City of Toronto Act, which could have sweeping effects on how the city can govern itself.

The province and the city are holding a dialogue on this new legislative framework for Toronto:

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 22, 2005
7 p.m. to 10 p.m. (Doors open and sign-in at 6:30 p.m.)

In small, round-table discussions, participants will discuss two questions:

Q1. How can the Province and the City ensure a strong Toronto that is fiscally sustainable, autonomous, accountable and has the tools it needs to thrive?

Q2. What advice would you give to the city and the province to ensure the success of Toronto’s new powers?

The closest location to Bloor West Village is Etobicoke Collegiate, 86 Montgomery Rd., (just north of Bloor, west of Royal York Rd – Royal York Subway)

Call Access Toronto, 416-338-0338 (TTY 416-338-0889). Space is limited. Participants MUST pre-register.
8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. weekdays
Saturday, June 11 & Sunday, June 12 from 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.

For more information visit:
http://w3.toronto.ca/mayor_miller/torontoact.htm