Above is a link to my February 2013 Flickr album of building and construction photos I shot during walks in the downtown area. Click once on the image to view a small-format slideshow of the pictures, or click twice to access the album directly on Flickr and see full-size photos and captions.
Up to three office towers or highrise residential buildings could be in store for lands behind this wooden hoarding at 11 Wellesley Street West, seen here from the northeast at the corner of Wellesley and St Nicholas Streets. Last week, a deal was supposed to close under which the Ontario Government would sell the property and pass ownership to a so-far undisclosed buyer, at a so-far unknown price, for redevelopment purposes. The closing apparently has been delayed until February. See report below for further details.
Hoarding along Breadalbane Street at the southwest corner of the 11 Wellesley West site. Since at least early 2011, downtown residents and neighbourhood associations have been pressing the City and provincial governments to create a new park or public greenspace on the vacant 2-acre property between Bay and Yonge Streets.
Hopes fading: A real estate transaction that was scheduled to close yesterday may dash many downtown residents’ dreams for the creation of a new public park on a vacant Wellesley Street West site surrounded by thousands of existing condo and apartment units, with thousands more on the way. But the local City Councillor has pledged to continue fighting for green space on the location.
Ward 27 Councillor Kristyn Wong-Tam told Tuesday night’s annual general meeting of the Church Wellesley Neighbourhood Association (CWNA) that Wednesday January 23 was the scheduled closing date for the sale of empty provincially-owned land at 11 Wellesley Street West. Barring an unforeseen event, she said, title for the land would rest in the hands of its new owner by 4.30 p.m. Wednesday. [Editor’s Note: CWNA board of directors member Paul Farrelly posted this update on the CWNA’s Facebook page January 26: “Councillor Kristyn Wong-Tam has been recently advised by the developer that the transaction will not close until the end of February. A visit on Thursday to Land Registry revealed a new construction lien for $650,000 was put on the property by a construction company on Jan 13,2013, but its not clear whether that has anything to do with the delayed closing.”]
Many in the CWNA audience had been hoping Councillor Wong-Tam would announce significant positive developments in her work to obtain at least some of the land for City park space, but she had no such good news to report in her brief update on the subject. She could say only that the City will continue its efforts to secure part of the property from its new owner. The buyer has not yet been publicly identified.
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September 7 2012: New water fountains adds some moisture and motion to the north half of Nathan Phillips Square in front of City Hall’s clamshell towers …
… while the angular frame for the roof of the square’s new theatre stage is catching visitors’ interest and attention, too
But extensive maintenance and upgrade construction work continues on the square’s popular reflecting pool/skating rink …
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… as does construction on the section of the square between the stage and the new snack bar and skate rental building …
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… while the entire west side of the square, where the new Peace Garden will be built, is yet another giant construction zone — much like the rest of downtown Toronto
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Square gradually getting there: It’s been over a month since I last reported on construction progress for the Nathan Phillips Square revitalization project at City Hall, so I walked over there this morning to see what’s been happening.
As the photos in my July 28 2012 post showed, construction crews still had a long way to go to finish work on the square’s new theatre stage and Peace Garden, along with extensive maintenance and upgrades to the reflecting pool/skating rink.
There hasn’t been significant change over the past five weeks, but there have been noticeable signs of progress.
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This poster appears on the Save Wellesley Green Public Park Facebook page, and is being circulated by email by local neighbourhood associations and downtown residents
Neighbourhood associations and city residents want the Ontario government to make government-owned surplus property behind the blue hoarding at 11 Wellesley St. W. available to the City for creation of a new public park
New park, please: Community groups and city residents concerned about the severe deficiency of downtown parkland have planned a rally for this afternoon to urge Ontario’s premier to make surplus government property on Wellesley Street West available for public green space.
At numerous public meetings I have attended during the past year, city planners, Ward 27 Councillor Kristyn Wong-Tam and Toronto Centre MPP Glen Murray all have acknowledged that downtown Toronto is “parkland deficient” with insufficient green space available for a population that is growing considerably faster than expected, thanks to the city’s ongoing condo building boom.
An opportunity to establish a new park or green space of some kind on Wellesley Street West lies within the provincial government’s grasp — after years of litigation, the Ontario government is finally able to do whatever it wants with a large piece of land at 11 Wellesley West, between Yonge and Bay Streets, that has sat vacant behind hoarding for most of the past decade. However, with eyes at Queen’s Park focussed on reducing Ontario’s enormous budget deficit, politicians seem more prepared to cash in on the condo craze by selling 11 Wellesley West and other surplus government land for redevelopment, rather than keeping it to create new parks for present and future generations of Torontonians to enjoy.
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July 19 2011: Construction of the relocated Peace Garden continues along the western flank of Nathan Phillips Square next to Osgoode Hall (right) …
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… as does work on a new live performance stage midway between City Hall and the new skate and snack bar pavilion which opened last September (rear).
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Meanwhile, the reflecting pool will be a dry dustbowl throughout the summer as it receives extensive maintenance work and upgrades…
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… including repairs to mechanical facilities along the pool’s entire perimeter …
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… while window upgrade work continues on City Hall’s west tower, seen here July 7 2012. Hundreds of window panes on City Hall’s east tower were replaced last year.
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However, a two-level restaurant that was supposed to be constructed at the square’s southwest corner won’t materialize until some unprojected future time, as part of a third phase of the revitalization project for the 40-year-old square
Slow progress: In recent months a lot of people have been wondering just how much longer downtown Toronto’s building boom is going to last. I keep wondering the same thing about the Nathan Phillips Square Revitalization project at Toronto City Hall.
Like much of the downtown area, Nathan Phillips Square remains a giant construction zone for the third consecutive summer as the $40-million-plus revitalization project drags on, with work gradually progressing on a new theatre/stage facility as well as a relocated and enlarged Peace Garden along the west side of the square.
Extensive maintenance and upgrades have forced the closure of the square’s signature reflecting pool/winter skating rink and put another huge section of the square off-limits for months — although that work isn’t part of the revitalization plan.
And as if all that isn’t enough, this is the second year that work has been in progress to replace the 40-year-old window panes in the iconic City Hall towers.
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The 11 Wellesley Street West site, viewed from the northeast last year …
… and viewed today from the northwest on Wellesley Street near Bay Street
This image, from a flyer on the CBRE Limited website, shows an aerial view of the property now listed for sale for redevelopment
This illustration, also from the CBRE Limited online flyer, suggests the highrise development potential for the 2-acre Ontario Government property
Park plans deep-sixed?: Downtown residents who were hoping a new public park would be created on provincial government property that has sat vacant near Yonge & Wellesley for years will be dismayed to learn that the land has instead been listed for sale for potential highrise redevelopment. Nevertheless, a city councillor plans to seek City Council approval to direct municipal real estate officials to negotiate acquisition of the property “for parkland purposes.”
A commercial real estate advertisement in today’s Globe and Mail newspaper touts the 2-acre “East of Bay” lands at 11 Wellesley Street West as a “downtown Toronto development opportunity.” The ad, published by real estate brokerage CBRE Limited, says the land “is located in a prime downtown residential development corridor,” and is “centrally positioned” between the city’s financial core and its tony Bloor-Yorkville district.
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Skaters enjoy the rink at Nathan Phillips Square under sunny skies and mild 16-degree temperatures Wednesday afternoon. A National Historic Site, Toronto’s Old City Hall provides a grand backdrop for those enjoying their icetime. Built from 1889-1899, Old City Hall was designed by Toronto architect E.J. Lennox.
January 25 2012: The Ontario Government is examining its options to make a prime piece of real estate on Wellesley Street West available for new city green space. The vacant property has been surrounded by navy blue hoarding for years.
More parks for downtown?: City planners and politicians alike have admitted that the central downtown area, and particularly the district between College and Bloor Streets, is woefully deficient in public parks and green space. But at least one new park — and possibly several more — could be in the cards for the city core, according to an Ontario Cabinet minister.
Glen Murray, the MPP for Toronto Centre and Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities, says the province is examining its options for making a vacant parcel of property on Wellesley Street West available to the city for redevelopment into green space or a park of some kind. Other provincially-owned lands in the downtown core also might become available for additional parkland, Mr. Murray told the first annual general meeting of the Church Wellesley Neighbourhood Association (CWNA) last night.
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A 29-storey condo tower proposed for Gloucester Street would cast shadows on Norman Jewison Park as early as 3 pm each afternoon, and would block sunlight from Mr. Jewison’s offices in the 5-storey light-brown brick building at right …
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… the former Rawlinson Furniture warehouse, constructed in 1878 at 18 Gloucester Lane just east of Yonge Street between Gloucester & Isabella Streets
No celebrity endorsement: I have attended a number of community consultation meetings the City has held in the last year to get feedback on proposed condo developments, but this past Tuesday night was the first at which one of Canada’s leading cultural icons stood up to express an opinion. And what world-renowned movie producer/director Norman Jewison had to say was anything but a celebrity endorsement for the condo tower project proposed for 2-8 Gloucester Street.
Mr. Jewison, 85, has offices in a 133-year-old building he owns immediately to the north of the potential condo development site. He told the meeting he was “amazed” that the condo proposal “has gotten so far,” because he had not even been advised that a tower might rise next door, just 3 meters from his windows.
Calling the condo plan “a bizarre idea,” Mr. Jewison expressed dismay that his building “will be completely in shade. Every single window in our building will now be looking into somebody’s bedroom. We’ll have no light. No sun. No view,” he said. “Everything is just squeezed in,” he added, referring to the compact site for the proposed L-shaped, 200,000-square-foot tower which, he said, would bring “a tremendous influx of people into this neighbourhood.”
The acclaimed director and producer of more than two dozen major Hollywood movies which have collectively received 46 Oscar nominations and won 12 Academy Awards, Mr. Jewison was among 25 people who commented on the condo proposal during the two-hour meeting.
As I have previously reported in posts on October 11 2011 and June 22 2011, a developer has applied to the City for zoning changes to permit construction of a 29-storey tower with 211 condominium units next to two heritage buildings at the corner of Yonge and Gloucester Streets. In an August 15 2011 background report, city planners identified 12 main issues with the development plan, and recommended that a community consultation meeting be held to obtain public feedback on the proposal. On September 12 2011, Toronto and East York Community Council directed staff to arrange the consultation session, and the meeting took place this past Tuesday evening at the 519 Church Street Community Centre.
Although many downtown residents and people involved in the condo development industry believe that the ultimate fate of the 2-8 Gloucester project could set the tone for further highrise projects along Yonge Street, turnout was lower than expected. I counted just over 50 people in the room midway through the meeting, but at least 15 of those were city officials, including Ward 27 Councillor Kristyn Wong-Tam, and the developer’s team of professional consultants and advisors.
Chaired by city planner Diane Silver, the meeting featured presentations by the developer’s planning consultant, Craig Hunter, and its architect, David Pontarini of Toronto’s Hariri Pontarini Architects. They led the audience through a slideshow of illustrations, renderings and photos that suggested how the proposed condo tower might look, and how it would visually and physically impact the surrounding neighbourhood.
Mr. Hunter said the developer has been working with its architects and other consultants for more than a year and half to develop its condo proposal. He said the parties realized the project had to be “sensitive” to the linear park and low-rise neighbourhood to its east, and also had to address transportation, heritage and density concerns. He called the proposal filed with the city “a very compatible fit with the existing mix of buildings in the area.”
Mr. Pontarini noted that his firm has “extensive involvement on North Yonge,” having designed the 45-storey FIVE Condos project currently under construction one block southwest of 2-8 Gloucester, as well as the 70-storey One Bloor condo tower presently being built three blocks north. Hariri Pontarini also was one of the consultants involved in the City of Toronto’s Tall Buildings Downtown Project. “We’re very interested in what’s happening along Yonge Street” and in Yonge Street historical preservation, Mr. Pontarini said, adding that the 2-8 Gloucester project “shows how development could occur along Yonge Street.”
His slide illustrations showed that the project calls for the 1878 Masonic Hall building at 2 Gloucester (a City-designated heritage building that now contains street-level retail, along with upper-level offices and condo units) to be preserved and restored, while the building at 8 Gloucester Street (listed, but not yet designated by the City as a heritage building) probably would be pushed forward closer to Gloucester at the southeast corner of the site. No decision has yet been made as to whether that building will be moved in its entirety, or dismantled and reassembled in the new location. Currently occupied by a restaurant and a nightclub, 8 Gloucester would become a “retail component” of the condo development, Mr. Pontarini said.
The condo entrance, forecourt and lobby would be situated off Gloucester Street, but the developer and architects are still considering “how to position the entrance,” Mr. Pontarini said. All service access to the condo would be from Gloucester Lane, including access to an elevator that would move cars into and out of the two-level, 34-space underground parking garage. Mr. Pontarini did acknowledge that city planners are “not happy with the transitions” that have been proposed between the tower and the two heritage buildings, and said the developer’s team will have to take another look at their design plans. “We want to do something remarkable because it [2 Gloucester] is a remarkable building,” he said.
Audience reaction to the proposal was mixed. I found it curious that several people who spoke in favour of the development used the exact same words, all saying they wanted to “commend” the developer, and all saying they found the glass tower design “intriguing” and “interesting.” One supporter said he thought the development would be “a plus for the neighbourhood,” while another said she thinks it “will upgrade the neighbourhood and make it more beautiful,” since the project will “improve amenities” in the area. But people who voiced criticism of the development, including several Gloucester Street residents, complained that they haven’t seen any amenity improvements in the area since three major condo towers were built close by on Charles Street.
At least six people objected to the tower’s height, including several who identified themselves as members of the recently-established Church Wellesley Neighbourhood Association (CWNA). One man complained that a 29-storey tower will be “a looming force over the Yonge Street heritage strip,” while another agreed that the tower “doesn’t work with existing buildings” nearby, and “overwhelms” the two heritage buildings incorporated into the development. A third concurred that the project “breaks the context of the low-rise neighbourhood.” 2 Gloucester is “the Crown jewel of Yonge Street between Bloor and College,” he said, but the condo tower would completely “wreck” that context. And a woman who identified herself as a member of the Bay Cloverhill Community Association (BCCA) argued that the condo would be nearly three times too tall as it should be for an area characterized by so many heritage buildings. “The last best piece of heritage left on Yonge Street” is along the strip from Grenville Street to Charles Street, she said, offering the view that “Yonge Street should become a heritage street from top to bottom.” When she asked: “What could you do with a 10-storey building on the lot instead?”, Mr. Hunter replied that it was “not likely” that the developer would work toward building a shorter condo.
Pointing out that most units in the condo tower will be studios or 1-bedrooms, one Gloucester Street resident said she wanted to know “Where do families fit in?” Although the development was being “sensitive to Yonge, what about the side streets?” she asked. “What are you bringing to our neighbourhood?” She noted that, not only would the tower block Mr. Jewison’s office building views and sunlight, but studies showed it would cast shadows on the adjacent Norman Jewison Park — one of the few public green spaces in the area — as early as 3 p.m. each day. Mr. Hunter responded that it was possible some of the condo units could be redesigned in a “convertible” configuration of 2-bedroom plus den or 3-bedroom styles that would be suitable to families. As for what the developer would be doing for the neighbourhood, he said it was proposing “custom crafted” amenities. It had plans to “transform” Gloucester Lane into “a more pedestrian feel,” he said. And while he admitted that the tower would cast afternoon shadows on Norman Jewison Park he said that, with any development, “there are gives and takes.” And, he pointed out, the City’s own mixed-use designation for the site “is meant to accommodate growth.”
Several speakers weren’t critical of the condo plan per se, but of the problems that would be posed by a new building that would bring several hundred more residents into the neighbourhood without a corresponding expansion of city services and resources, especially for transportation. Even though the tower would rise along a subway line, two speakers pointed out that the Yonge subway is already stressed and overcrowded, so adding more residents to the Yonge Street strip will only make a bad problem worse. “That has to be addressed,” said one area resident who complained about subway congestion. Another said it was “incongruous” that the city would consider further intensification in the neighbourhood without balancing that off with improvements to public transit.
And in what I thought was a novel argument, one man said he thought the city must allow the tower to be built because people who will move to downtown Toronto in future years have a “right” to live in buildings such as the one proposed for Gloucester Street.
Getting back to Mr. Jewison, who was upset to learn about what he repeatedly called a “bizarre project” only after the public consultation meeting was scheduled. Mr. Hunter said he had believed someone had contacted Mr. Jewison’s family to discuss the condo development proposal, and had not received any objection to the plan. Nevertheless, he apologized to Mr. Jewison for the oversight in not contacting him directly.
Below are several photos I shot today, showing Mr. Jewison’s building and the proposed condo tower site.
This rendering of the 29-storey condo tower proposed for 2-8 Gloucester Street appears on a zoning application sign posted outside the building site
October 14 2011: The 1878 Masonic Hall heritage building at the northeast corner of Yonge and Gloucester Streets, viewed from the southwest. The proposed condo tower would rise to the right of the five-storey brown brick building.
October 14 2011: Looking northwest from Norman Jewison Park toward the proposed condo tower location at 2-8 Gloucester Street
October 14 2011: The proposed 29-storey condo tower would be built where the two-storey building is situated. Canadian movie producer/director Norman Jewison owns the five-story building on the right, at 18 Gloucester Lane
October 14 2011: Mr. Jewison’s building at 18 Gloucester Lane, viewed from the linear park that the City of Toronto named in the film director’s honour
October 14 2011: Looking up the east side of 18 Gloucester Lane. The 5-storey brick building was constructed in 1878.
October 14 2011: A street-level view of 18 Gloucester Lane, location of the offices for Mr. Jewison’s Yorktown Productions Ltd.
October 14 2011: Looking up at the south side of 18 Gloucester Lane. The proposed condo tower would rise only 3 meters away from Mr. Jewison’s building.
From the Centre’s website, this artistic illustration suggests how the revitalized Harbourfront Centre will look with new public parks and amenities on the space formerly occupied by a large above-ground parking lot
April 21 2011: Excavation of the existing above-ground parking lot is underway to build a new below-ground parking facility
Site transformation: You can’t walk very far in downtown Toronto without encountering a “revitalization” project of some kind. Whether it’s public spaces like Nathan Phillips Square or the “mink mile” on Bloor Street, retail complexes like the Toronto Eaton Centre, transportation facilities like the Union subway station, or office towers like First Canadian Place, massive renovation and reconstruction projects are either underway, close to completion, or just getting started. Harbourfront Centre is no exception. The 10-acre cultural landmark is getting a major makeover that will create significant new public spaces at one of the city’s most popular waterfront attractions. The most visible work at the moment is excavation of the Centre’s large above-ground parking lot, which will be rebuilt — underground. That move will free up a tremendous amount of space to create new park and public amenity areas around the Harbourfront Centre facilities, which draw more than 12 million visitors annually. Although the parking lot is now a large, closed-off construction zone, it’s business as usual at the various Harbourfront Centre buildings, including Queen’s Quay Terminal, York Quay Centre, The Power Plant and the Enwave Theatre. Completion of the new underground parking lot is scheduled for next spring. Below are some recent photos of the revitalization activity underway at Harbourfront Centre.
November 9 2011: The former parking lot for Harbourfront Centre has been cordoned off with fencing and hoarding as the revitalization project gets underway
November 9 2011: Construction hoarding around the former parking site
A billboard on hoarding around the Harbourfront Centre construction site
Another billboard at the Harbourfront Centre construction site
A diagram showing how the Harbourfront Centre site will be transformed
April 21 2011: Construction site hoarding along Queens Quay Boulevard
April 21 2011: Construction site hoarding along Queens Quay Boulevard
April 21 2011: Looking from Queen’s Quay Boulevard toward excavation activity at the northeast corner of the site
April 21 2011: Excavation activity at the northeast corner of the property
April 21 2011: Excavation activity along the eastern perimeter of the property, next to the Queen’s Quay Terminal building
April 21 2011: Construction of the new underground parking facility is expected to finish at around this time in 2012
May 8 2011: Looking northwest at the Harbourfront Centre construction site from the driveway next to the Queen’s Quay Terminal building
May 8 2011: Landscape reconstruction activity north of the lakeside amphitheatre
May 8 2011: Another view of landscaping activity behind the amphitheatre
May 13 2011: Work still hasn’t finished on the former Peace Garden location
Snail’s pace: Looks like the Nathan Phillips Square revitalization is one of those ambitious city projects that is going to take years to complete … and probably not look much like the transformation that was initially promised to Toronto taxpayers. Every time I visit the Square, I expect to see signs of significant construction progress, but never do. While I do notice changes from time to time, I keep getting the distinct impression that the transformation appears to be moving at a snail’s pace. Now I know why. In her latest column in Saturday’s Globe and Mail, Lisa Rochon says “work has been seriously delayed on the square” because of “petty squabbles” between the contractor and the city — a dispute that could result in a two-year delay costing taxpayers an extra $2.4 million. (As I noted in my January 11 2011 post, the project was supposed to take only two years, and cost $42.7 million). I highly recommend reading Ms. Rochon’s column for further insight and information about the Nathan Phillips Square revitalization and other public space projects in Toronto. In the meantime, I’ve posted some recent pics of the Square’s construction progress (or lack thereof) below. Unless a lot of work and general spring cleaning happens in the next couple of weeks, the Square is destined to look tacky and dumpy throughout the summer tourist season. And that’s definitely not a good way to make a positive impression on the hundreds of out-of-town visitors who will pass through the Square each day.
May 13 2011: Without water and operating fountains, the big reflecting pool looks like a large rectangular dustbowl
May 13 2011: The new concession stand and skate rental facility was supposed to be finished by the end of last year, but still has a ways to go
May 13 2011: Another view of the concession building
May 13 2011: A view of the bridge being built to link the concession building with the elevated walkway that surrounds Nathan Phillips Square
May 13 2011: The west end of the Square next to Osgoode Hall, where the Peace Garden is supposed to be relocated
May 13 2011: After being closed all winter, the elevated walkways (and City Hall’s green roof park) have re-opened to the public. The walkways are supposed to get new surfacing and lighting as part of the Nathan Phillips Square revitalization.
May 13 2011: Another view of the former Peace Garden location, which has been taking months to rebuild as an open section of Nathan Phillips Square
April 21 2011: One of the water fountain features in the new Sherbourne Common north park area, which is nearing completion on Lower Sherbourne Street
April 21 2011: Looking east from Lower Sherbourne Street at the nearly-completed north park section of Sherbourne Common
Nearly finished: Construction of the north section of the new Sherbourne Common park is in its final stages, and the new recreational facility could be fully open to the public in only a few weeks’ time. Below are some photos I took of the park on Friday; there’s also a link to an online photo album containing dozens more photos of both the north and south sections of Sherbourne Common, as well as the nearby Canada’s Sugar Beach.
April 21 2011: Lower Sherbourne Street view of the park
April 21 2011: One of the whimsical installations in the park
April 21 2011: Eastward view of the center section of Sherbourne Common North
April 21 2011: Another installation at Sherbourne Common
April 21 2011: View of Sherbourne Common park from Queen’s Quay Blvd
April 21 2011: Construction crew working at Sherbourne Common North
April 21 2011: Crew working to finish Sherbourne Common North
April 21 2011: The water fountains at Sherbourne Common North
April 21 2011: One of the water fountains at Sherbourne Common North
April 21 2011: One of the water fountains at Sherbourne Common North
April 21 2011: A water channel on the south Sherbourne Common
April 19 2011: A southwest view of hoarding around 11 Wellesley St. W., between Yonge & Bay Streets. Behind are the Murano condo towers (left), the Opera Place condos (center) and The Bay Club apartments (right), all on Bay St.
April 9 2011: A northwest view of 11 Wellesley Street West from the corner of Breadalbane St and St Luke Lane. A half-dozen highrise apartment and condo towers, and the Sutton Place Hotel (center), overlook the site.
Potential parkland: Could a big piece of prime downtown real estate become a public park instead of the apartment complex that a developer had planned to build on the site? Apparently so — if enough people can convince city and provincial politicians to make it happen.
The land in question has a municipal address of 11 Wellesley Street West, and occupies the eastern half of the city block bounded by Wellesley to the north, St. Luke Lane to the east, Breadalbane Street to the south, and Bay street to the west. Over the past two decades, it has earned notoriety as a site where ambitious development plans fail to materialize.
Back in the late 1980s, the provincial government donated the entire block of land for construction of a new ballet/opera house. Various levels of government pledged tens of millions of dollars toward the project, and construction of a spectacular building designed by architect Moshe Safdie was supposed to start early in 1991. However, with Ontario in the throes of a recession and facing a $2.5 billion budget deficit, the province’s newly-elected NDP government withdrew its $65 million cash pledge. In turn, the federal government and Metro Toronto cancelled their pledges for $88 million and $20 million, respectively, and the project was cancelled.
A skateboard park occupied the site for a few years until a developer acquired the western half of the property and built the Allegro at Opera Place condo tower and The Bay Club rental apartment building along Bay Street. The developer, Morguard, planned to build two more apartment buildings, 9 and 10 storeys tall, on the 11 Wellesley West site, along with a recreational amenities facility for the use of residents in all of the buildings (including two more Opera Place condo towers previously constructed one block south on Bay Street, between Breadalbane and Grosvenor Streets). However, shovels never got in the ground for the final phase of construction, and the property has sat vacant behind hoarding ever since — an eyesore that annoys hundreds of residents in the condos and apartments overlooking the site, not to mention passersby on Wellesley and Breadalbane.
I have long wondered why Morguard wanted to build only low-rise apartments on a location ideal for highrise development — to me, tall condo towers would suit the space better, and might even be substantially more profitable. I have also wondered why it has been taking so long for the final phase of Opera Place construction to commence. Last month, a city planning department official told a community meeting I attended that the site has sat empty for years because the developer and the Ontario Government have been embroiled in litigation over the property. No further details were provided about the nature of the dispute, but the planner said the parties are close to signing a settlement under which the province could re-acquire the land. If that does happen, the province apparently has indicated that it would be willing to give the property to the city for use as a community park — if that’s what people want.
Now, at least one neighbourhood group is encouraging residents to write to their city councillor and their MPP to say they want 11 Wellesley West turned into parkland. A page on the Bay Cloverhill Community Association website urges residents to contact City Councillor Kristyn Wong-tam and MPP Glen Murray to show their support for the creation of a new park. Will it happen? Perhaps, if enough Toronto residents put pressure on the local politicians.Personally, I favour turning the site into public green space; even though I didn’t skateboard, I still remember enjoying the wide open space along Wellesley before the skateboard park was closed off. The empty land and the unsightly hoarding have been a blight on the neighbourhood ever since, and it’s high time something creative is done to enhance the property and surrounding streetscapes. At the same time, I’m skeptical that we’ll see a new park on Wellesley anytime soon. Empty land in downtown Toronto rarely gets repurposed as parkland; inevitably, it attracts the attention of developers, and winds up sprouting condo towers instead of trees. Moreover, this particular piece of land seems to have been jinxed since the opera house plan fell apart. I hope I’m wrong. I’d really love to see trees along Wellesley.
The 11 Wellesley Street West site appears as an empty white space in the center of this aerial image from Google Maps. The Sutton Place hotel is at top left, while the downtown YMCA is near the bottom right.
September 28 2008: Breadalbane Street view of weeds and rubble on the 11 Wellesley Street West site
September 28 2008: Northeast view from Breadalbane Street
December 5 2008: East view from outside the Sutton Place Hotel
December 5 2008: East view from Breadalbane Street
April 17 2009: Northeast view from Breadalbane Street. The Casa condo tower is seen under construction on Charles Street to the north.
March 11 2010: North view from Breadalbane Street
March 11 2010: Breadalbane Street view of 11 Wellesley Street West. From time to time, someone rips out weeds and clears rubbish from the site.
March 11 2010: Although there are dumpsters and construction trailers on the property, I’ve never seen anyone on it.
March 16 2011: Southwest view of 11 Wellesley Street West from the corner of Wellesley and St Nicholas Streets. The property is virtually surrounded by highrise condo and apartment buildings.
March 27 2011: Looking north at the big empty lot. At left is the Sutton Place Hotel; at center is the Century Plaza condo tower at 24 Wellesley St. W.
March 27 2011: A view toward the northeast corner of the lot
March 27 2011: The property is less than half a block from Yonge Street and just a short walk from the Wellesley subway station.
April 1 2011: South view of 11 Wellesley Street West from St Nicholas Street
April 9 2011: Now that it’s spring, weeds will once again flourish on the lot
April 9 2011: This north view will change in a few years during construction of the 45-storey Five Condos, which will rise behind the brown building at upper left.
April 9 2011: Residents of the condo and apartment towers have looked down on this eyesore for more than a decade
April 9 2011: West view of hoarding along Breadalbane Street
April 9 2011: North view of the hoarding along St Luke Lane
April 9 2011: Breadalbane Street view of the towers to the north and west
April 9 2011: South view of the hoarding along St Luke Lane
April 9 2011: Looking west along Wellesley from the corner of St Luke Lane
April 17 2011: More rubbish, rubble and weeds await a spring cleanup
A sunny April 9 afternoon at Toronto City Hall’s Nathan Phillips Square
Scruffy Square: I have passed through Nathan Phillips Square several times since Christmas while busloads of tourists were arriving for a quick City Hall visit. It’s been interesting to watch the out-of-town visitors stream from their buses on Queen Street and wind their way toward the ever-popular winter skating rink/summer reflecting pond and fountain. Many look disappointed when they discover that renovation and construction work on several different parts of the Square make it difficult to get nice photos of Toronto City Hall. They wander around, searching for spots away from construction activity, garbage cans and other visual clutter so they can take pics of each other posing with the iconic clamshell towers in the background. A few couples and families have asked me to take their photo, urging me to “try not to get that stuff in the shot” — referring, of course, to construction crews, building materials and equipment, and temporary fencing around areas where work is in progress. Unfortunately for tourists, “that stuff” is going to be there for at least another year. The city’s long-overdue $43 million Nathan Phillips Square Revitalization project started one year ago this week, but the extensive renovation work is scheduled to continue until at least the middle of 2012. With major construction and landscaping activity underway at three prime places on the Square, most tourists probably won’t get a “perfect” picture of City Hall anytime soon. But I’m hoping they’ll enjoy their time in Toronto so much, they’ll come back once the Square’s makeover is complete. Because the Nathan Phillips Square they’ll see in a few years’ time will look vastly better than the dumpy plaza they’re seeing today.
When I describe the Square as “dumpy,” I don’t mean the messy work areas that, once finished, will immensely improve the look and feel of the entire plaza. I’m speaking about the Square in general, which City Hall has neglected and mistreated for years. I’ve overheard more than a few visitors comment that the plaza looks scruffy, and some out-of-town colleagues have made similar observations. I felt embarrassed when a very-well-travelled friend from South America told me several years ago that he thought Nathan Phillips Square is the “scuzziest” city square he’s seen anywhere in the world. I couldn’t agree more. Whenever I walk through the Square, it reminds me of messy backyards where loads of junk are scattered or stacked all over the place because the homeowners either couldn’t find appropriate places to store it out of sight, or just couldn’t be bothered getting rid of it. The big difference is that Nathan Phillips Square is Toronto’s front yard. And that yard not only has pathetic landscaping in many places, it’s cluttered with a lot of crap, including dilapidated, decades-old benches and picnic tables that look tacky (I really hope those are going to be replaced; the revitalization project website mentions new furniture for the elevated walkways that enclose the Square, but says nothing about seating for the ground level.) Moreover, the Square has become an ad hoc storage area for crowd control barriers, construction materials, and equipment. C’mon, Toronto. If you want to be a world-class city, start acting like one. Clean up your front yard and stop using it for storage. The 1.5 million people who visit the Square each year deserve better.
Thankfully, the city got things right with the podium green roof that opened last spring at the base of the City Hall towers — it’s a wonderful, refreshing urban space of gardens, greenery and tall grasses. It’s unfortunate that more people don’t bother making the trek up the curved podium ramp to check it out, though; there has always been fewer than a dozen people enjoying the park whenever I’ve gone up.
Below are two images from the revitalization project’s website, showing the Square’s new layout and suggesting how it will appear once work is complete and new trees and plants have been put in place. Those are followed by photos of recent construction progress at the Square, as well as pics showing some of the on-site clutter and weather-worn benches and tables.
From the City website, an artistic illustration of how Nathan Phillips Square will appear once the two-year, $43 million revitalization work is completed in 2012
From the city website, a map showing the Square’s new layout
March 7 2011: The second level of the new restaurant starts to take form
March 22 2011: Orange and black tarps draped over the snack bar construction
March 22 2011: Reconstruction of the square’s former Peace Garden location
March 22 2011: West view across the former Peace Garden site
March 22 2011: Southwest view of the former Peace Garden area
March 29 2011: Southeast view of the Square across the former Peace Garden site
March 29 2011: Construction progress on the restaurant & skate pavilion
April 3 2011: Window replacement in progress on City Hall’s east tower
April 8 2011: Work crew removing more windows from the east tower
April 8 2011: Work crew removing more windows from the east tower
April 8 2011: The former Peace Garden site hasn’t changed much in months
April 8 2011: Southwest view toward the new snack bar and skating pavilion
April 8 2011: The west side of the Square where the Peace Garden will be re-installed and a new urban forest planted
April 9 2011: A view of the area where the urban forest will be planted
April 9 2011: The west lawn location for the Peace Garden and urban forest. The building to the west is historic Osgoode Hall.
April 9 2011: Construction machines and muck on the west lawn
April 9 2011: Construction extends to the southwest corner of the Square
April 9 2011: Work on the west lawn, just north of the Winston Churchill sculpture
April 9 2011: Northeast view of the reflecting pool, which will get a new seasonal “disappearing” water fountain featuring nine fountain jets
April 9 2011: East view across the pool toward Old City Hall
April 9 2011: Southwest corner of the new restaurant and skate pavilion
April 9 2011: The south side of the new restaurant and skate pavilion
April 9 2011: Another peek at the south side of the restaurant and snack pavilion
April 9 2011: The second level of the new restaurant and skate pavilion. The restaurant will be connected to the Square’s elevated west walkway, which will be eventually be refurbished with new paving, seating and lighting
April 9 2011: Northwest view of the new restaurant and skate pavilion
April 9 2011: Looking south toward the new restaurant and skate pavilion
April 9 2011: Southeast view toward the new restaurant and skate pavilion. The second-floor link to the elevated walkway is taking shape.
April 9 2011: Trees and gardens formerly occupied this space, which has been dug up to permit construction of the restaurant and the new theatre stage
April 9 2011: A solitary tree stands above old park benches cemented to the ground near the new restaurant and skate pavilion
April 9 2011: Some of the old park benches in the construction area
April 9 2011: A long bench on the ratty lawn along Queen Street. New planting and landscape surfaces will be installed in this area to help improve pedestrian flow into the Square.
April 9 2011: Park benches near the Queen Street entrance to the Square
April 9 2011: Old picnic tables stored under the east walkway along Bay Street
April 9 2011: Nathan Phillips Square used to have beautifully landscaped gardens; however, in recent years, they have been allowed to languish and now look quite shoddy. This one is on the east side of the Square
April 9 2011: The old concrete benches next to the pool have seen better days
April 9 2011: The shaded spaces beneath the elevated walkways have long been used to store equipment and material, like these crowd control barricades under the west walkway.
April 9 2011: Barricades stacked under the west walkway
April 9 2011: Tourists have to walk past this makeshift storage area when they enter the Square from their bus drop-off point on Queen Street
April 9 2011: More window panels have been removed from City Hall’s east tower
Skate pavilion and concession stand construction progress on February 15 2011. More information, photos and renderings of the Nathan Phillips Square revitalization project are available in my January 11 post.
Another view of the new skate pavilion and concession stand
Workers on the site of what used to be the square’s Peace Garden
The garden is gone, and will be relocated to the square’s west side
A large excavation is all that remains of the Peace Garden