362 / 370 Wallace Ave. (Former Glidden site) Development
October 9, 2009 - 3:37pm — Scott D
The property at 362 / 370 Wallace Ave. next to the West Toronto Railpath has been vacant for several years, and is now being prepared for redevelopment. Please use this forum for discussing this site.
A quick recap:
- This is the former Glidden Paints and Varnishes factory site
- The ground at this site was significantly contaminated for many years with industrial pollutants
- On-site bio-remediation was completed in 2009, bringing the land back to residential standards.
- Current owner is Somerset Homes
- As of July 2011, Somerset hopes to develop the site with 174 residential units and 25 light industrial units. Some details about this are in the first public meeting announcement and notes from that meeting.
Some other links and previous news about this site:
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Don't connect Macaulay
A nice idea would to not connect Macaulay to the Edwin extension all the way to Wallace. IMO it'd be cool to see a little park right there and moves traffic in one direction as to protect the kids playing in the park. Just an idea.
Access
It is in the City's long term plan and will happen. Elsie will some time head south to Ernest. And you are creating capacity. Don't fight the street, argue about access. Curtail rush hour shortcuts like they do say at Lawrence and Bathurst and things might not be too bad. Be aware that "downtown" is moving a mile wider. Ernest will head south to Randolph. This capacity, if arterial restrictions apply, might actually quiet things down in our lifetime.
A park there. Or Ruskin. The new developer on Wallace is no Falus. : )
If Edwin connects to Wallace
If Edwin connects to Wallace and Ernest heads to Randolph then why stop there? Why would they not give Edwin an artery status from Dundas to Bloor? And then you want to argue access? The access has been granted and to fight to have a no left turn on Edwin will be much more difficult due to the "greater good". I'm for the greater good but isn't it nice to have the quiet and quaint streets as they are? Something to stop in to rather than pass by. I assume by downtown moving a "mile" wider you mean we are growing exponentially east and west and there's no stopping it, right? That's fine and yes, I'm very much aware of it. What I'm saying is the pass through neighbourhoods are never treated as a destination.
But - all in all, i guess I'm not quite sure what you're saying. DO you mean Phallus? Maybe I don't understand the word. Capacity to have access? Capacity - could you define what you mean? And if arterial restrictions apply - let's make sure they are in place ahead of time and not after.
Let me try this again.
Let me try this again. Sorry for any confusion.
The City has for years wanted to add local road NOT ARTERIAL ROAD capacity. In the 1970's they wanted to use what is now Railpath as a service road. Thankfully they did not. But they do want to run Edwin to Macauly to Wallace and then continue Elsie south past Ernest to Randolf.As all development in the area in the future will be a higher density there will be a need for increased capacity just for local traffic. (Also the south of Bloor there is a plan to connect Ruttan to Sterling some day.)
No new roads in our immediate area could be arterial; there is no room and nobody would want it. There is no room or bridges for Edwin (Elsie actually) to go further south.
Second, there will have to be a series of restrictions in a few places so that local roads dont become arterial shortcuts. A great example is Silverthorn Avenue which is one way south to stop the obvious temptation to flood a community and park area with traffic looking for a shortcut to Old Weston Road avoiding the St. Clair intersection. It is probably a pain for some local drivers but when I was on it the other day it was quiet and safe for kids.
Falus refers to Tom Falus who has been the largest developer in our area for years and is well known. You can read more about him elsewhere on this site. The new developer on Wallace has a good reputation and is making an effort to make the Wallace development augment the community. His name is Fred Guth and I think he will work closely WITH the city to make the site, the roads, Railpth access, as good as possible.
362 Wallace notes - Some photos
Thanks to Joanna, we have some photos of boards that were on display at the July 26th meeting. I have added them to Shona's meeting notes.
Did anyone go to the meeting?
Did anyone attend the meeting? If so, what were your thoughts? Any pics of the models?
Notes posted
Thanks to Shona, we now have some detailed notes posted .
No pics yet. If anyone else has them, please pass them along (info@junctiontriangle.ca) and I will get them posted too.
-Vic
370 Wallace Early Thoughts
A few notes about the site.
1. This is a very early meeting in the process (unlike Fallus) and is really to break the ice and gauge community reaction. There will be more chances to comment.
2.This land will be developed and whatever kind of development happens traffic will increase on all the roads in the area. Based on past experience the City traffic planner and the developer's hired "expert" will under estimate the future traffic patterns and local residents will greatly over estimate the future traffic patterns.
3.The City will insist on a new north south roadway through the site, probably linking with MacCaulay. (The City will also insist on a roadway heading south on Elsie Lane through the Solways site and across the Ontario Hardwood site to Randolf when those lands become developed.
4. The current zoning is called "Industrial Lands" which is a hastily written mumbo jumbo a few years ago rushed into place because the City was loosing OMB hearings and loosing industry from the downtown. Unlike the other zoning designations that are put in place after careful consideration, the EL zoning was a blanket designation that to some extent nobody really understands. It is due for a vote to extend it and considering that almost no EL were developed over the past 5 years it is almost certain to be removed or changed. Each individual land that was EL would revert to its original zoning unless the City has some other master plan which I doubt. Castlepoint which is developing, or trying to, the land on Sterling is planning to go to the OMB this fall to overturn the concept of EL zoning on their site. From what I have heard the EL designation pleased nobody and has only slowed development which in turn has reduced the tax base, which EL was supposed to protect.
5. Light industry does not make money for developers in the downtown and that is why they are reluctant to build it. The light industry units on Wallace still remain largely un-leased. I am surprised they are interested in building it at all. A mix of uses is good BUT something like what is behind PiriPiri is not exactly a friendly night time space to be next to Railpath. Live work spaces would be great though (under the EL designation you cant get 2 City planners to agree on whether they are permitted; again slowing things down) as they would bring life 24 fours hours to the western edge of the RP. Other than live/work or very light industry, few companies will want to set up shop on the end of a dead end narrow street.
6. For those that don't know, the soil on this former paint factory was initially filtered for about 15 years using pumping stations. A few years ago the the firm Bio Genie used a process called biological remediation to dig up and clean the soil on site to exceed MOE standards. This process is far greener than the cheap option of digging up and dumping the soil in Northern Ontario. At the time of the process there were fumes which were the smell of salts that were added to the soil to speed the decomposition cycle.
7. In terms of traffic, the largest single current source of traffic is parents dropping off their children at school. Living on Perth, the main route there, I would guess that it adds about 100 cars during the AM and maybe the same amount spread out over the afternoon. The Wallace Perth Church is now closed so the congestion and parking issues on Saturdays are gone. Some of the claims posted here about potential traffic numbers are a bit hysterical, especially when we have yet to see a design. The idea that everybody who has a car will drive it every day is no longer true nor is the idea that every body has a car or that everybody will drive on the same street at the same time; note how many people walk on the Wallace bridge every morning to go to the TTC. Although there will be an increase in traffic I see the main traffic issue in the area as calming the increasing number of people who cross through the local streets on their way somewhere else.
8. Railways do not like to share (especially liability) so there is zero chance of any kind of tunnel being put under the Georgetown corridor. A tunnel for cars over that length would cost at least 50 million dollars (the Dufferin Jog cost 40 million). Even if there was that kind of money around (I would rather have a new library or community center) a tunnel works in both directions so in fact you would be creating a major traffic entrance to the JT so that people could avoid Bloor and Dupont; not a great idea if you like local traffic. Sometimes people forget that the rail lines actually protect the JT from through traffic.
9. Cost. Whenever developments are proposed 2 groups emerge with differing views. 1. The units will be really low priced which will bring bad people to the area, or 2. the units will be really high priced and nobody "in the community" will be able to afford them. Neither is right. Developers build to make money and they price according to what the market will take. End of story.
Here are a few questions thoughts that should get raised at the meeting.
- How will Councillor Bailao vote in terms of EL re-designation?
-Will development strengthen Railpath by providing access and eyeballs and maybe a few extra square feet of land near Ruskin?
-How will the developer avoid creating an abandoned night time strip of light industry in the community?
-What will Councillor Bailao ask in terms of Section 37 money or deeds in exchange for variance?
Hopefully somebody will take some point form and some photos of designs if there are any and remember, this is meting number 1.
We're moving across the
We're moving across the street from this lot next month. I've been trying to stay educated on the plans for this development. I would love to see some notes as well as I don't think I can make the meeting.
Thanks!
Michelle
Wallace Meeting - Taking notes?
Hi,
I'm sure there will be many people at this meeting, but I'm not sure if I'll make it.
Would someone be able to take some detailed notes and photos? Would be great if you could also do a writeup to post here on this website.
Thanks,
Vic
Stop the Parking Garage Entrance
Hello,
I live on Ruskin Avenue. Inculeded in the plans for the wallace site is this "176 below grade parking spaces for the residential including 23 visitor parking spaces and 50 spaces for the industrial units including 25 below grade parking spaces. Access to the parking garage will be at the north end of the site off Ruskin Avenue." This will significantly increase the vehicle traffic on Ruskin. There are two grade schools and a number of children living on Ruskin Avenue. So I think that for the safety of our children that we not allow them to build the entrance on Ruskin Avnue.
I'm just hoping Councilor
I'm just hoping Councilor Bailao and the Developer are open to the residences of the JT.
Vehicle Traffic / not appropriate industry placement
225 parking psaces, is 225 cars, is almost 800 car trips (drive to and from work = 450 , 50 percent of us make one more trip each day 225, 675 trips + 100 more trips for workers at this locationnot being provided with an on site spot to park), driving down Edwin and Franklin and Ruskin, these are tertiary roads at best, and by a school zone. There are currently less than 50 cars parked on the road between Ruskin and Dupont on Edwin, and this for me is the real crux of the lack of thinking here. During rush hours, when everyone is driving to and from work, we already have a traffic flow problem, as Dupont is a slow crawl, you have a situation where 200 cars are going to drive up Edwin and turn left or right, I have timed that light, and during peak hours you are lucky if four cars are successfully able to turn left on the light. If all 200 of these new to the neighborhood cars that are trying to leave for work, exit on Edwin alone ( the planned exit is for the bottom of Edwin and Ruskin) the 100 cars that try and turn left ( the other 100 going right) will clog Edwin entirely, for about 45 minutes each morning, this is not counting the current Edwin/Ruskin/ Franklin residents who already try and use the Edwin light, to access Dupont during rush hour. The fact that Edwin is already too narrow to allow three vehicles to pass is a current concern to everyone in the neighborhood already. This will force drivers to exit along Franklin and Perth avenues as well, already overcrowded small roads during the morning school drop off. The plan to put in 176 low rent townhomes is further crowded by the current applicants request for 25 light industrial sites as well. So not only are we over stressing the current road network and adding a potentially dangerous new level of cars to tertiary streets by two schools, we are adding 75 cars also trying to get to work at the same time, as this will be a place of employment for those people. 25 units, currently being allocated only one parking spot each, I am not sure what kind of light industrial business only employs one person, but more than likely the average of 3 people per unit will be trying to get to work on the same clogged roads that every one else is using to try and leave, forcing 50 cars to park along Edwin and Ruskin, every day, and at the same time, light industrial units will require industrial service vehicles to support those businesses, delivery trucks, semi-s, industrial deliveries will also be using these same small auxillary roads, to bring services and deliveries to these units. Finally these industrial units will have customers, who will increase the flow of traffic in the neighborhood as well, I am not opposed to the development of this land, but clearly this level of extra traffic on roads not designed for it is a real concern. On top of this there is the nature of the construction, the inappropriate adding of industrial units to a residential area, indicates the nature of the units to be built there. These are not going to be middle of the road units, these are not going to be high end units, no one wants to live above a light industrial facility, as a first choice, it will have a prolonged effect on the nature of the area, a constant negative pressure on a overcrowded high density location. If they are serious about this they should apply to construct an access direct to the closest main traffic artery, Dundas West, either by tunnel, or overpass. Until then I would seriously consider opposing this thoughtless proposed addition to our community.
I'm not really sure where you
I'm not really sure where you have determined that the residential will be 'low rent'. I would expect that the new units would be priced to be competitive with the units on Wallace already which would put a 1000 sqft 2 bedroom unit at about $400,000 - $500,000...far from low rent.
In addition, your suggestion to extend an access road either over or under the train tracks will not have the desired effect. If a new road is built across the tracks it will encourage through traffic which will use Wallace as a way to bypass traffic on both Bloor and Dupon, this will cause a massive net increase in the amount of traffic which traverses the residential streets in the neighborhood.
If there is a concern it is that the light industrial units need to be better defined, the last thing we want is noisy neighbors, we need to understand the expected mix of tenants etc.
I agree totally
linking to Dundas will not solve anything but complicate it more, maybe we can suggest making some of the smaller streets one-way instead of tight two-ways, then we can control traffic flow a little better
the idea for the site to me is small compared to what it ought to be and what it was while functioning as a local industrial building, i'd like to see more planned work space, not necessarily light-idustry but office or design spaces, BTW these are NOT residential lands, they are employment lands and the developer is trying to make it more residential than employment lands (like 80-20% rezoning) this I think we need to oppose, maybe if it were the other way around 20% residential and 80% employment that fairs better and close to the original zoning of the lands, I think low rise buildings like the Wallace lofts, with ground floor commercial and a mix of design space, office space and few above grade light industrial is much better, blocking any body shops, mechanics, used-car sales etc, and keeping it office casual of 4-6 stories in height.
BTW good planned density & influx of new young people is a very good thing, and very good for our area, it has improved the area already these past 10-15yrs and will only improve the liveabllity making it more desired and improving schools etc, we need to say what we do want here,
Industrial units
During last week's Ward 18 railway walk, Councillor Bailao compared the proposed industrial units to the ones at the north-east corner of Dupont and Campbell (behind Piri Piri). That would give a general idea of what to expect, but trying to figure out what kinds of tenants might actually move in is waaaay too early at this point (though I wonder if the developer has anyone lined up yet).
Increased traffic at Edwin and Ruskin
I thought I had heard that any development would include extending Edwin to Wallace, more or less along the path that already crosses the property as you can see on Google Maps.
I can't say for certain, but it seems that this would alleviate some of the potential traffic problems by spreading out the cars and street parking.
I'd have thought there would be a lane running between Wallace Street addresses and Ruskin Ave addresses, which would need access.
Anyway, I guess we'll hear more on Tuesday.
I didn't know there were any
I didn't know there were any plans developed for this site... I've heard countless rumours about who owns it and what they plan on doing with it. Is there a development notice up on the fence?
The plans for the parking garage aren't too far off from what is already at 351 Wallace/Elsie Lane and I don't think it's too bad around there.
Community garden
I think the old Glidden site would be an ideal spot to incorporate a community garden into the development plans!
Please stay on-topic
This forum is about the 362/370 Wallace Ave. lands. If you want to discuss the 2010 municipal election, please post on that thread. And actually...since Giambrone isn't running for re-election, please post this stuff in a separate thread.
Thanks,
Vic
Why delete my Posts?
Yes I am fully aware Giambrone is not running for election. The point has to do with the need for constituents to question which sectors of support a candidate has. I see that Scot D's post criticizing Ana Bailo stands, but because I criticize the NDP and Kevin's links, you delete? Why the censorship?
Off-topic stuff
Yours isn't the only off-topic post I have deleted.
This forum is about the 370 Wallace lands, not about Giambrone's campaign contributions. If you want to talk about that, start another forum. Feel free to re-post if / where appropriate.
The posts about the developer and campaign contributions related to this property are OK. The followups that went on about campaign contributions in general have migrated to an appropriate forum.
I'm just trying to keeps topics in the right places here.
A reminder to everyone to please read the Code of Conduct before posting.
Somerset Homes Wallace Owner and Donator
I talked with Somerset Homes and yes they own the land and plan to develop it.
http://www.somersethome.ca/
They refer to the address as 362 Wallace and I was told that they are basically waiting for the employment lands designation to be changed by a future council. Gee I wonder what candidate in the area they have donated to? Wasn't hard to find...
http://www.votetoronto.ca/financial/wards/2003T/Ward18_2003T.htm
Very interesting...
Thanks for posting that. It's definitely interesting that a residential developer is sitting on the land now. If the employment lands designation doesn't change anytime soon, that property might sit empty for a really long time. Admittedly, I really loved seeing it get used as an informal dog park....but hope it will get put to a good official use someday.
It would be interesting to know just how much lobbying Somerset Homes and Fred Guth have done with past, present, and future candidates about this land. I just hope that our elected representatives listen to the actual local residents more than developers / campaign contributors from outside of our area.
Note: Let's keep discussions on this forum focused on the 370 / 362 Wallace lands. OK to talk about lobbying etc. related to it, but more general discussions about candidates etc. should be in a different forum, e.g. the 2010 Municipal Election forum.
Donors to candidates....stay tuned
The bottom line is are you representing the residents (which includes business) or are you supporting other interests that while perfectly legal, are potentially at odds with the residents of a ward. I think people would be surprised by some of the publicly available information about that. It would certainly concern me if a councillor had a lot of ties to developers and related companies doing business in my ward, on my street. Wouldn't it concern you? I'll be posting some more interesting publicly available information about this very soon.
370 Wallace
We were notified by the location manager for the movie that the old lot was purcahsed by a company called Somerset Homes.
There are a few companies that go by that name online but it looks like there is one that works in the area and does custom built townhomes.
I live on the other side of
I live on the other side of the bridge and my building was notified that a film crew will be filming in the area this upcoming Monday from about 4am to noon.
Yep, it's a film crew
Walking along the WTRP, I spoke (through the fence) to a guy milling about in the Glidden field with a take-out coffee in his hand - and yep, it's a film crew... He didn't say what the production is, but he said it's "a fairly large project." They're doing some filming in and around the Glidden property, he said, but will continue its lease of the field until the end of year - even if it's just a place to keep their picture vehicles/ props/ etc.
That's the gossip, anyway...
Spielberg alien invasion pilot in Toronto
Movie gossip from hollywoodreporter.com:
By Etan Vlessing Share
Aug 24, 2009, 10:38 AM ET
TORONTO – Steven Spielberg's untitled alien-invasion drama pilot has landed in Canada for a two-week shoot.
The DreamWorks Television project for TNT about a group battling an occupying alien force is shooting in and around Hamilton, Ontario.
The Noah Wyle-starring pilot is executive produced by Spielberg, who last week was on location at the Royal Botanical Gardens in Burlington, along with Darryl Frank, Justin Falvey and writer Bob Rodat.
Carl Franklin is directing the pilot, with Cyrus Yavneh producing.
Photos can be found at hollywoodnorthreporter.com
This looks almost as good as
This looks almost as good as Relic Hunter. : )
Steve Spielberg project for TV
They said that they will be filming in and around the storage facility, and there there will be at least one explosion this week. It is some sort of sci fi themed TV show.
370 Wallace
Looks like a movie crew to me.
Yeah, I wonder if it's
Yeah, I wonder if it's re-testing as well. It's just the camping trailers and BBQ that have peaked my curiosity. My dog sure misses the impromptu park..
Activity at 370 Wallace?
Does anyone know what is happening at the remediated field at 370 Wallace? There are quite a few vehicles parked there right now, including trailers etc. Has the remediation been completed and is this now going to be yet another construction site?
370 Wallace
Interesting. Wonder what's up there?
Remediation was completed about a year ago.
There are no building permits issued for the site (search here). Maybe they're just testing soil again? Or trimming the weeds, or doing other repairs? :)
370 Wallace Soil Remediation Complete
The latest from the people doing the soil remediation at the brownfield on Wallace. As per previous conversations the land owner Glidden can now sell the land to a developer. So far they have not wanted to tell who it is but there is a deal in place. This land is zoned as "employment lands" which in theory means the City has greater control over what will happen here. Number one, expect a new road from Ruskin to Macauley to Wallace. From Bio Genie:
"We are just finalizing countouring and seeding and will completely demobilize by the end of next week.
The project is complete and the site is decontaminated to residential standards.
Regards,
Philippe Gingras, P.Eng.
Project Manager
Biogenie S.R.D.C. Inc.
#136, 2301 Premier Way
Sherwood Park, Alberta"
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