It’s big, which means it’s probably going to be controversial.
But proponents of the oversized development that could rise from the Honest Ed’s site at Bloor and Bathurst say it’s the kind of forward thinking project that Toronto needs.
At an open house at the Park Hyatt hotel on Tuesday night, the public got its first glimpse of preliminary designs for the complex that could replace Toronto’s most beloved discount department store. Hosted by Westbank, the Vancouver-based developer that bought Honest Ed’s in 2013, the event was packed with about 500 residents eager to get a look at the plans that will reshape a prominent corner of the city.
The Bloor and Bathurst proposal, perhaps inevitably, was much taller than many would like. It’s anchored by a 29-storey tower at the southwest corner of the intersection that slopes west and south towards 16-storey and then five- and six-storey buildings. The complex exceeds existing zoning regulations by a significant amount, according to city planning staff in attendance, but they could not immediately say by how much.
But unlike many of the towers that have proliferated downtown during Toronto’s development boom, these buildings wouldn’t house condominiums. Instead, all of the project’s roughly 1000 units would be rental housing, a big deal in Toronto’s crowded market where rental vacancies are extremely low. There would also be a mix of different sized apartments, including 272 two-bedroom units, 161 three-bedroom apartments and 13 four-bedroom apartments. To go along with those family-sized dwellings would be an on-site daycare facility.
The city’s chief planner Jennifer Keesmaat, who attended the open house, said that to her knowledge, no Toronto developer has proposed building this many rental units in recent years. With so many condos going up, her department has been deeply concerned about the lack of new rental construction.
“The rental component is a really exciting piece of this,” she said.
While noting that the plan has yet to be thoroughly reviewed by the planning department, Keesmaat also praised the retail and public realm aspects of Westbank’s proposal.
Instead of big box stores on the ground level, the developer plans to install fine-grain retail on the Bloor and Bathurst frontages. A new north-south lane way, named Honest Ed’s Alley, would be lined with “micro-retail” and pop-up shops, and “create a bazaar shopping experience” reminiscent of the old store, according to Westbank’s public presentation.
A large space in the centre of the complex would be given over to a covered outdoor public market, similar to Toronto’s St. Lawrence Market or New York City’s Union Square. The venue would host regular farmer’s markets, and on the property’s western edge would be a community garden for urban agriculture.
The buildings on the south end of Markham Street, which currently house popular bars and art galleries, would be preserved. But the street would be closed off to traffic and transformed into pedestrian-oriented public space that could double as a venue for cultural events like the Hot Docs festival. In tribute to the area’s hippy history, “world renowned graffiti artists” would be commissioned to create public art harkening back to the Mirvish Village of the 1960s.
The entire development, which is adjacent to the Bathurst subway station, would be outfitted with infrastructure to reduce residents’ dependency on cars, including facilities to rent, repair and store bicycles, a car co-op, limited parking spaces, and charging stations for electric vehicles.
All of these elements mesh nicely with the city’s planning policies, which prioritize density along transit corridors, ample public space, and sustainable mixed-use developments. Westbank is hoping their inclusion will help win over residents who would otherwise oppose the development because of its size.
Many at Tuesday’s open house appeared to be swayed.
Don Watterson, who owns Curbside Cycle on Bloor just east of Bathurst, said he was “thrilled” by the creativity of the proposal.
“This could be a landmark architectural site,” he said. “It blew my mind.”
Watterson fretted however that the development could be compromised by residents opposed to increasing the neighbourhood’s density. “A lot of times when you talk to the residents, they just don’t want more people coming into the neighbourhood, and that’s all they talk about.”
Leo Panitch, who has lived on nearby Palmerston for over 30 years, was more skeptical. He called the large buildings in Wesbank’s proposal “an eyesore.”
He also doubted that the average Torontonian could afford the new rental units. “I’m very worried that it’ll be Manhattan prices for the rentals, given where they are and what they’ll be,” he said. “Who’s going to be living there?”
The local councillor, Mike Layton, said it was too early for him to give his full endorsement to the project. He’s concerned about the size of the high-rises, especially because they will set the precedent for the intersection’s three remaining corners, and he also wants to ensure that at least some of the units are set aside as affordable housing. But Layton says he likes much of what he’s seen so far.
“They’ve taken a large site in a neighbourhood with very unique character and they’ve found a couple of innovative ways to reflect that character,” he said.
The Bloor and Bathurst proposal is still very much in its infancy Westbank hasn’t even submitted a development application to the city yet. Layton said the fact that the company is seeking feedback so early in the process is a good sign. It’s also rare in Toronto’s development industry, where builders have a reputation for trying to ram through projects with little consideration for city zoning bylaws or the wishes of the local community.
“I’ve never seen an approach like this before,” said Layton, who described Westbank as “very attentive” to many residents’ concerns. “That, I think, created some good will. We’ll see how far that extends.”
bens@nowtoronto.com | @BenSpurr
