Church Wellesley Update
News from the Church Wellesley Neighbourhood Association
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Manulife Investment Management is proposing a 59 storey rental tower at Church and Charles, where the 7 storey Traders Building presently stands. At a second community consultation, on October 2, Manulife polled community members as to whether they would choose to preserve the current building facade as the podium of a new tower or to have the building demolished in order to create more green space. Option 1 would allow for 2600 square feet of publicly accessible open space; option 2 would allow for 6300 square feet.     As a matter of comparison, the new tower on the west side of Church at Charles (including the old Manhattan Apartments) was approved at 47 storeys. The Manulife proposal is still at an early stage; the developer has yet to submit a development application to the City.
To receive email updates or provide your feedback, contact Manulife at: info@625church.com Some of the last low- and mid-rise buildings on Charles Street will be replaced by a 48 storey tower, including a 6-storey podium. The site is currently occupied by The Charlesview, a 9-storey rental building at 55 Charles Street East (containing 76 units), and the 3-storey rental building at 61-63 Charles Street East (containing 24 units). Tenants will be compensated for moving and are being offered replacement rental units on the second to sixth floors of the new building. The rest of the building will be condominium units. The original application asked for 55 storeys; this has been reduced to 48. The exterior design has also been made more interesting. In July, the City met with stakeholders, including the CWNA, to review the developer's site plan. Renters had concerns regarding the lack of parking spaces designated for the rental apartments. As Charles can be very congested, another recommendation was making the laneway side of the building more amenable to mail, deliveries, pick-ups and drop-offs by adding a back lobby. Another concern was the lack of any designated outdoor space for dog relief. The City will raise these concerns with the developer.  This site lies just outside the western edge of the Church Wellesley neighbourhood, and includes 10-16 Wellesley Street West, 5-7 St. Nicholas Street and 586 Yonge Street. In 2017, the developer, Fitzrovia Capital, proposed a 64-storey condo tower. City staff recommended refusal of the application. Fitzrovia appealed to the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal (LPAT). Fitzrovia has since sold the land to Centrecourt Developments. In July 2019, Centrecourt resubmitted the proposal at 55 storeys. For comparison, Wellesley on the Park, now rising across the street at 11 Wellesley West, will top out at 60 storeys. There is an LPAT hearing scheduled for January, 2020.  Originally proposed as a 16-storey condo on the Beer Store property at 572 Church Street, the project has now been reduced to 12-storeys, according to a Local Planning Appeal Tribunal Settlement. The building will have a 44 degree angular plane rising from Church Street, so that it better relates to the low-rise buildings that characterize the Village, and contain 96 units. This 34-storey condo project was approved several years ago, but went into dormancy until late 2018, when the application was revived as a rental building with an updated design. The new building will replace the heritage buildings housing fly nightclub and Olympic Pizza, though the facades will be preserved. In June, the Design Review Panel -- which is comprised of private sector design professionals who provide independent advice to city staff -- panned the new design on numerous counts and voted to send it back to the developer for a rethink. [see Urban Toronto article for details.]   The "tower in the park" style of building, pioneered by Le Corbusier, was popular in Toronto in the sixties and seventies. These residential towers were distinguished by the generous amount of open space around them, leaving room on the property for trees, gardens, water features and other landscaping. Now that land values have skyrocketed, owners of some of these properties are looking to monetize their open spaces with infill projects.
One example is Isabella Court, the 27 storey, 400 unit rental building at 33 Isabella. Cromwell Property Management is proposing a 4 storey building on the west side of the property, with 15 apartments and ground floor administrative offices. A community consultation, held on May 8, provided an update on the original proposal. City staff had noted that, over time, some amenity spaces at 33 Isabella had been replaced by rented office space. As well, the infill building removes the existing outdoor tennis court. Some key points:
Negotiations between the City and the owner will continue before the City provides final approval of the project. Related: City Staff preliminary report (Dec., 2018) Toronto Development Application Update: A second open house is scheduled for: Wednesday, October 2, 2019 5:30 pm - 8 pm St. Paul's Bloor Street, Great Hall 277 Bloor St. E. Manulife Real Estate is proposing a redevelopment of the Traders Building at 625 Church Street. The proposal would add a rental tower atop the stately six storey 1956 brick building and allow for street level retail along Church Street. On December 6, Manulife hosted an open house to inform the community of its plan and receive feedback. In the renderings only the Church Street facade is shown as preserved. The south side of the building, on Charles Street, would have an increased footprint, eliminating the current patio space and moving the new structure closer to the sidewalk. The proposal is in its very early stages; the height and look of the new building is yet to be determined. We we can expect further community consultation before a development applications is made to the City. To comment or be added to the mailing list, email 625ChurchStreet@strategycorp.com  Church Street view  Charles Street view  Church and Hayden corner view  Church and Charles corner view Get involved and stay informed at these upcoming meetings, happening this week in and around our neighbourhood. Education in Ontario - Community ConsultationThe 519 is hosting a meeting give community members space to discuss changes to curriculum, incl. the Sex Ed roll-back from 2015 to 1998. Date: Tuesday, December 4, 2018 Time: 6:30pm – 8:30pm Place: The 519, 519 Church Street MPP Jessica Bell's Emergency Affordable Housing Town HallMPP Jessica Bell (University-Rosedale) will be joined by MPP Suze Morrison (NDP Critic for Housing), Councillor Mike Layton, Kensington-Bellwoods Community Legal Services, the Federation of Metro Tenants' Association and ACORN, to discuss how we can advocate for change, learn about our rights and organize against things like illegal evictions and bad landlords. Date: Tuesday, December 4, 2018 Time: 6:30pm - 8:00pm Place: Alliance Française, 24 Spadina Road (Pierre Leon Gallery) Community Consultation 55-61 Charles Street EThe City is holding a Community Consultation meeting where you can learn more about this application, ask questions and share your comments. You can view a copy of the Preliminary Report providing background information at https://www.toronto.ca/legdocs/mmis/2018/te/bgrd/backgroundfile-116934.pdf and the submitted plans and reports at http://aic.to/55CharlesE Date: Wednesday, December 5, 2018 Time: 7:00pm - 9:00pm Place: St. Paul's Bloor Street Church, 227 Bloor Street E (Great Hall) 625 Church Street Redevelopment Open HouseManulife Real Estate is proposing a redevelopment of 625 Church Street that aims to incorporate the current architectural design of the building, while providing new rental housing and amenities for the neighbourhood. Join them to learn more about the proposed project and provide your input.
Questions? Email 625ChurchStreet@strategycorp.com Date: Thursday, December 6, 2018 Time: 7:00pm - 9:00pm Place: St. Paul's Bloor Street Church, 227 Bloor Street E (Grand Hall)  The City is holding a meeting where you can comment on the development application for 552-570 Church St & 66 Wellesley St E.
City Planning recommended that the proposed application be refused, and this was accepted by Toronto East York Community Council (TEYCC) on November 15. You can see the Refusal Report here, and all the information on the initial application, including plans, wind studies, and more, on the development application page. |
