Settlement Offer Dec, 2021
On December 24 the City Clerk released previously confidential attachments from the December City Council Meeting for item CC38.8, with respect to 4050 Yonge Street.
City Council has adopted a settlement offer. The letter from Devine Park LLP provides details on the Settlement Offer. Revised Renderings were also provided.
In summary:
- Each tower has been reduced by 7 storeys
- The east tower has been reduced from 21 storeys/85m to 14 storeys/60m
- The west tower has been reduced from 35 storeys/133m to 28 storeys/107m
- The east building has improved a lot with a 3 storey streetwall facing Yonge, and upper storeys terraced, reducing visual and shadow impacts to Yonge
- The hotel has been removed from the project, replaced with more condos
- The total number of parking spaces has been reduced from 646 to 497, access is still from Wilson
- The net density (excluding the ravine dedication) has been reduced from 9.66 to 8.29, a reduction of 14%
Section 37 benefits consist of:
- $1 Million to be allocated towards improvements to paths and trails within the West Don River Valley area adjacent to the site, improvements to Stewart A. McGregor Parkeete (adjacent to Loretto Abbey), improvements to York Mills Valley Park, and improvements to the Don Valley Golf Course facility.
- Significant design, finance and construction responsibilities for at grade/below grade pedestrian tunnel connections linking; and completion of the Toronto Transit Commission Entrance Connection.
- Surface easement granted to the City along the Yonge Street frontage to secure a pedestrian clearance of no less than 10m in width.
The settlement will need to be approved at a settlement hearing of the Ontario Land Tribunal, likely on the date for which the hearing was scheduled (May, 2022).
Condo 3 times taller than nearby buildings
Blog TO / Real Estate recently published an article by Filipe Dimas titled “Toronto opposing new condo that would be 3 times taller than nearby buildings“.
Councillor Mike Colle states his opinions on this proposed development. He talks to the problem with the changing of all the provincial rules.
State your opinions to the provincial officials. Send an email to Premier Doug Ford ([email protected]) and MPP Robin Martin ([email protected]).
4050 Yonge Street – LPAT (now OLT) Appeal Update
A Case Management Conference was held on Friday, March 12 2021 for this development at our TTC Subway stop at the corner of Yonge and Wilson. The conference was held to identify the individuals/organizations that will be participating in the hearing in various roles (Appellant, Party or Participant), to define the number of days that will be scheduled for the Hearing, to define the date by which Issue Lists must be submitted, and to explore the possibility of settlement and/or mediation of any or all of the issues.
The City of Toronto was accepted as a Party. The York Mills Valley Association (YMVA), the York Mills Heights Residents Association (YMHRA), the South Armour Heights Residents’ Association (SAHRA) and the Upper Avenue Community Association (UACA) were accepted as Parties. Cadillac Fairview, the owner of the commercial buildings at 4100 Yonge St, was accepted as a Party. The Yonge Ridge Homeowners’ Association and the St. Andrew’s Ratepayers Association were accepted as Participants.
The Parties were instructed to submit Issue Lists and Draft Procedural Orders by Friday, April 9 2021 for discussion at the second Case Management Conference.
A second Case Management Conference was scheduled for Tues, June 22 2021 for the review of the Issue Lists, the Draft Procedural Orders, duration of the hearing, start date of the hearing, directions for prefiling of witness lists, expert witness statements and written evidence and the submission date for Participant Statements.
It was felt that 15 days would be required for this hearing to deal with the Site Plan Agreement as well as OPA and Zoning amendments – this will be further discussed at the next Case Management Conference.
4050 Yonge Street – appealed to LPAT
A Community Consultation meeting was held on Jan 12 2021 for 4050 Yonge Street. Following that SAHRA submitted a letter outlining a number of concerns to Councillor Colle and Planning.
But the applicant appealed their Official Plan, Zoning By-law Amendment and Site Plan Control Approval applications to the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal (LPAT) on September 22, 2020 citing Council’s failure to make a decision on the application within the time period prescribed under the Planning Act. A Case Management Conference has been scheduled for March 12, 2021.
On March 1, 2021, Planning will present a report prepared on Feb 5, 2021 to the North York Community Council (NYCC) recommending that the City Solicitor together with City Planning staff and other appropriate staff be directed to oppose the application in its current form at the LPAT. The report also recommends that despite the applicant’s appeal of the Official Plan Amendment, Zoning By-law Amendment and Site Plan Control Approval applications to the LPAT, City Planning staff continue to work with the applicant to address the issues raised in this report.
Once approved at the NYCC, it will then go forward to City Council for final approval.
The City and 4 adjacent resident associations (York Mills Heights, York Mills Valley, St. Andrew’s and South Armour Heights) are now preparing for the Case Management Conference on October 12.
The City’s Request for Direction Report dated Feb 5 2021 can be viewed here.
Comments on 4050 Yonge Street Proposal
After attending the Community Consultation meeting on Jan 12 2021 for 4050 Yonge Street, SAHRA has submitted a letter outlining a number of concerns to Councillor Colle and Planning:
- The proposal for 4050 Yonge has grown from a reasonable 2-tower complex of 7 and 9 storeys to one with 21 and 35 storey towers.
- This location is currently subject to a height limitation of 172.6 metres above sea level or approximately 39.5 metres above established grade. The proposed height, at 135 metres above established grade is a football field taller than the existing limit. This is excessive!
- While subway overcrowding is a complex issue, adding a significant residential building in an area with limited existing job opportunities suggests that most of these residents will need to travel on the subway or by car to get to their places of employment. This project will not reduce transportation needs in the area.
- During the meeting, there was no TRCA representation and we were left with the understanding, from the developer, that there were no outstanding issues – that TRCA had redefined their plans for the area and this development would not have an impact. We are skeptical of this position and are concerned about flood potential and that this development will have an impact on the environment and area wildlife.
While we try to understand the Province’s requirements for intensification at subway stations, we feel intensification without consideration of the surrounding geography will result in a poorly conceived community.
Yonge and York Mills has a low density because it sits in a valley surrounded by parkland and hills. There are perhaps 3 remaining properties suitable for development in this area. Unlike the Sheppard or Eglinton stops, there is no space within a 500 metre radius to erect 50+ oversized condominium towers and meet the Province’s intensification targets.
Yet during the meeting, the developer’s primary justification for this project was the Province’s intensification goals! This will not result in a focal point for jobs, housing, transit infrastructure and services. The result will be an orphaned complex, in a poorly serviced area with limited access to employment or shops and services. These future homeowners will need to travel by car or on an overcrowded subway to get their daily essentials. This is poor planning.
For these reasons we believe a more modest proposal, reflecting the limited opportunity for intensification and the sensitivity of the surrounding green space would be a better fit for the property at 4050 Yonge Street.
Community Consultation Meeting – Jan 12, 2021
The City has announced that a virtual Community Consultation meeting will be held for this proposed development on Tuesday, January 12, 2021 from 6:30 to 8:30 pm.
Click here for the 4050 Yonge St Notice of Community Consultation Jan 12 2021
The Notice provides details on how you will be able to Register to join Online or by Phone. You can submit comments/questions in advance by contacting City Planning staff or the Councillor’s Office.
To review information on the application before the meeting, visit http://app.toronto.ca/AIC/index.do for 4050 Yonge St. Materials, including drawings and consultant studies are located there under “Supporting Documentation”. If you are unable to access the materials online, please contact City Planning Staff. You can cell or email them using the contact information provided in the Notice.
Status Oct 20 2020
A Preliminary Staff Report was published on Sep 21, 2020 by the Planning Department.
A motion was passed at the Oct 7, 2020 meeting of the North York Community Council approval to arrange a Community Consultation meeting, possibly in November or December, 2020.
The residents associations in each of the quandrants of the Yonge-Wilson intersection proximate to the proposed development are working together on the review of this proposal – York Mills Heights Residents Association, St. Andrew’s Ratepayers Association, York Mills Valley Association, Yonge Ridge Homeowners’ Association and South Armour Heights Residents’ Association.
SAHRA believes that it is important that we, along with the other local residents’ associations, be involved in the review of this proposal as it will be impacting to our members as well due to proximity to our boundaries.
History of the site and the current proposal:
In 2011, this site at the NW corner of Yonge Street and York Mills, was approved by City Council to permit a 7-storey, 32.9 metre high commercial building. But the official by-law amendments were never approved as the applicant did not enter into a Section 37 agreement and in addition, property ownership changed and the proposal was modified which required further review by the City and the Toronto Region Conservation Authority (TRCA).
The revisions to the proposal included the introduction of a hotel in a 9-storey, 33.5 metre high portion of the building as well as the addition of a 4th level of below grade parking. The previously approved total gross floor area of 44,670 square metres remained unchanged as did the foot-print and general height of the building. Proposed floor space index was 5.4 times the lot area. This was approved in Nov, 2016, permitting a density of 2 times the lot area for the subject property and a maximum building height, inclusive of superstructures, pipes and chimneys, of 163 metres above sea level, provided the building height does not obstruct sight lines across the Don Valley, from top-of-bank to top-of-bank for the property at the SE corner of Yonge St and York Mills.
In Jan, 2020, a new application was submitted to Planning. This called for a 21-storey building (east building), comprised of non-residential uses including office, retail, restaurant and hotel and a 35-storey, 290 unit residential building (west building) at 4050 Yonge St. A 6-storey base building would connect the two towers. The development would provide direct access to the existing York Mills TTC subway station. The land containing the subway access building and tunnel are not owned by the applicant but belong to the City of Toronto.
The proposed development would contain a total of 67,826 square metres of gross floor area. With a gross site area of 12,986 square metres the proposed development would result in a net Floor Space Index of 8.15 times the lot area and a gross Floor Space Index of 5.22 times the lot area. Lands below the stable top of bank would be dedicated to a public authority.
The proposed east building would be 21 storeys (80.5 metres, including mezzanine and mechanical penthouse) in height, and would be comprised of non-residential uses as follows: 4,626 square metres of office, 1,536 square metres of retail and restaurant use and 26.424 square metres of hotel use (approximately 312 hotel suites). The proposed hotel would contain suites comprised of: 139 king rooms (45%), 123 double-queen rooms (39%) and 50 king suites (16%). The base of this building would provide access to the existing York Mills subway station.
The proposed building at the west end would be 35 storeys (131.0 metres, including a ground floor mezzanine and mechanical penthouse) in height. A total of 290 residential units are proposed, comprised of: 69 1-bedroom (24%), 120 2-bedroom (41%) and 101 3-bedroom (35%) units. The applicant is proposed that 10% of the units be affordable housing units.
The residential tower floor plate would be approximately 800 square metres and the hotel tower plate would be 964 square metres. These floor plate sizes are larger than the City of Toronto standard of 750 square metres.
Vehicular access to the site would be provided via a single driveway which is located centrally along the Wilson Avenue frontage.
A total of 766 below-grade parking spaces would be provided in a 5-level structure with 257 spaces being for residential use and 509 spaces for the hotel and other commercial uses.
A total of 304 bicycle parking spaces are proposed: 198 long-term residential spaces; 20 short-term residential spaces; 10 long-term spaces for other uses and a further 22 short term spaces for other uses.
Four loading spaces are proposed including one Type ‘G’ loading space (for non-residential loading), one Type ‘B’ loading space (for residential loading) and two Type ‘C’ which would be located at grade within the building envelope accessed from the vehicular forecourt.
A total of 580 square metres of indoor amenity space (2 square metres per residential unit) and 580 square metres of outdoor amenity space (2 square metres per residential unit) would be provided. The indoor amenity space would be located on Level 1 and Level 7 (390 square metres and 190 square metres, respectively). The outdoor amenity would be located abutting the Level 1 indoor amenity space (580 square metres).
Detailed project information can be found on the City’s Application Information Centre at: http://app.toronto.ca/AIC/index.do
Current Status Aug, 2018
Construction has not yet commenced at this site as of Aug, 2018. The Old Orchard Park playground improvements were completed in 2018.
Update Oct 17, 2016
Councillor Carmichael Greb put an urgent Motion forward at City Council on Oct 5, 2016 to approve the Final Staff Report from Planning on zoning amendments and Section allocations; this was Carried. We expect that the Building Permit will be issued shortly. $300,000 is to be paid prior to Dec 1, 2016 – it appears that the City wanted to secure Section 37 funding for needed community improvements and to take advantage of the opportunity to improve existing infrastructure to this site.
The documents specify the overall amount of the Section 37 funds to be paid ($1,500,000) with a list of 5 allocations:
- Upgrades to the existing transit passenger pick-up and drop-off parking area along Old York Mills Road
- Path and trail improvements/connections within the West Don River Valley area adjacent to the site, York Mills Park and York Mills Valley Park
- Improvements to Woburn Park
- Improvements to the Douglas Greenbelt
- Improvements to Old Orchard Park (replaced Brookdale Park which has recently been improved)
An earlier allocation to ‘Establishment of a Village Square on Dunblaine Avenue’ has been removed as Transportation Services does not agree with this proposed change.