362 / 370 Wallace Ave. (Former Glidden site) - Wallace Walk

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. The development is being marketed as "Wallace Walk". Please use this forum for discussing this site.

A quick recap:

Some other links and previous news about this site:

AttachmentSize
362 Wallace Ave Cover Letter.pdf121.59 KB
362 Wallace Ave Location Map.pdf1.04 MB
362 Wallace Ave Notice.pdf94.46 KB
362 Wallace Ave Plans.pdf3.11 MB
362 Wallace Ave Revised Map 2.pdf126.91 KB

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Completion date?

Anyone have a reliable update on completion date?

Railpath commercial units

Hello all,

I am trying to find out who is going to be leasing the commercial strip building spaces that are nearing completion adjacent to the WT railpath. I believe that this is 362/370 Wallace Avenue by looking at the survey and plans I found in this thread. If anyone has information regarding this, I would be really appreciative! We are looking for a new office space and I will be moving into Arch Lofts in a couple of months so this location is perfect.

Thank you!

Wallace Walk Completion and PDI

We purchased a unit and had a Pre-Delivery Inspection. We found the situation to be very unprofessional on the part of the developer and the experience was extremely frustrating. The unit was only 50% completed one week before the occupancy date, and the builder had the audacity to call this a PDI. I have purchased 3 previous newly built homes and everything was completed! On these 3 previous occasions I found and noted down the flaws as required by Tarion. In the case of Wallace, the PDI made absolutely no sense as the interior was incomplete, plumbing did not work, light fixtures were missing and very few lights worked and the terrace area was a dangerous mess of construction debris! Also there were no banisters on the stairwells, the so-called "inspection" took place in this darkened unit and the entire unit contained safety issues. We were not at all impressed and quite disgusted as numerous issues had to be noted down. in actuality a PDI exits to check and note down flaws. This is impossible when a unit is not even completely constructed! In any case the buyer has little recourse as our Agreement of Purchase allows the builder to make any changes.

Please request to remove comment

Hi Wallace Walk Owner,

I am a fellow unit owner. Please request that this comment is removed from the junction triangle website.

Posting these comments publicly does nothing to help resolve your issues and only highlights issues to those who may be wishing to move into our condo development.

There is a Wallace Walk facebook group (closed group) where the community discusses these issues privately.

Regards,
Fellow Wallace Walk Owner

Completion Date?

Some of you were to move in on Aug 14th, I believe this is the first block and this date was moved to Aug 28th. Wallace blamed the city for not knowing about a water valve or something. Simply put, they couldn't turn on the water and the valve seized. Way to test out the water 3 weeks before moving in. Next, they moved it to Aug 28th to fix the water valve, but 3 days prior to August 28th they sent an urgent mail saying there was now a gas issue, again not their fault. Way to test out the gas 1 week before moving in. The date was moved now to "sept 4" which is now the earliest. So far they have moved the firm occupancy date twice. Tarion allows this but there needs to be compensation. Second, garage doors were not up, glass railing weren't up on some of the first suites to move in. It's hard to believe that Wallace was ready on the 14th or the 28th regardless of any "water" & "gas" issues. Unsure if this Sept 4th date will stick. Good luck to all those moving in to Wallace, numerous issues I've heard with suites not being up to even close to par for inspection by owners.

Sliding Doors on 2nd Floor?

Has anyone walked by lately?

It looks like they have installed a sliding door on the 2nd floor, and put the window on the ground floor.

This makes no sense, because you would walk out to a 9 foot drop.

The drawing of the plans has this the opposite.

Jon.

362 Wallace Updates

362 Wallace update # 1
The developer has decided NOT to put a parking lot on the buildings that run along Railpath. Why is not important so roof will be partially green and there may also be roof access from the new community building. They will put the parking underground.

362 Wallace update #2
There was a meeting today with Ana Bailao, City departments, and the developer regarding the tearing up of Railpath park. To make a long story short the land needs to be re-graded because it will cause water to buildup underground against the new buildings leaving the City liable for damages. Next spring everything will be put back basically the way it was although not as hilly and Parks will have the final say to make sure it is done right.There was general agreement that the City dropped the ball on keeping the public, the councillor, and the Parks manager abreast of what was going on.

On a smaller note the long awaited water fountain at Wallace and Railpath will be in next year and with the changes to the bridge mean we will finally have power on site so we wont need the generators anymore for events.

Can anyone comment on the

Can anyone comment on the front doors of the wallace walk units? Are these the doors that will remain upon move in?? I really hope not :S they are very basic ...... For the units that face wallace that were supposed to move in last week, I still see these temporary looking front doors in place

Doors - Wallace Walk

yes these are the doors that will remain....I am an owner and this was discussed at the information session. They indicated the doors needed to be 'fire doors' and that while they are not overly attractive...they are safe ....

That's great news on both

That's great news on both fronts Scott. Thanks for the updates.

Parking stacker approved

FYI: The variance to allow the parking stacker / rooftop parking was approved at the July 23 meeting. Thanks to Sara for the update.

-Vic

362 Wallace Minor Variance

I've taken a look at the plans that Vic posted. Thanks Vic. I'm less up in arms about this now. I was livid, but I'm much calmer now. Take a look at the 362 Wallace Ave Plans.pdf above. If I've read the drawing correctly the elevator is slightly higher than the rest of the building but it will be enclosed. The entrance to the elevator is located at the end of Ruskin just before the path. The parking looks to be only ONE level of 41 spots and NOT STACKED. There's also a wall for that roof parking that will hide most if not all of the visible car parts from the path if it is indeed just a single unstacked layer of cars.

They could have communicated this way better and saved us all the grief. Can someone else take a look at the plans and tell me if this looks less intrusive than we all thought?

The real people to suffer will be the people who bought the upper units that will now look down onto car roofs. If I was them I'd be upset.

Comments anyone?

Rooftop parking

Yeah, it's definitely not as bad as having some kind of towering robotic parking stacker. It's really just an elevator-accessed rooftop parking lot.

In some ways, I'd rather have no wall blocking the view of the roof. Anything that adds more walls up around the Railpath just ends up closing it in more. Keep in mind we're also getting some tall noise walls on the other side of the path...

Someone mentioned snow clearing (I think on Facebook). Looks they they have a designated space on the roof for a snow melter and Bobcat.

It has also been mentioned that visitors may not be inclined to go through the trouble of taking the parking elevator up to the roof, and therefore some of that parking may just hit the surrounding public spaces. That may be a concern...

I wonder what the big reason is for not doing the original underground plan. The cover letter mentions "geotechnical considerations"...but are they just looking for a cheaper solution that excavating and building an underground parking lot?

I agree that in this modern age of computermachines and Internets, this kind of thing should have been communicated better with information readily available on the City's website.

-Vic

Committee of Adjustment

The person to talk to is Kyle Strik 416-397-771 at the Committee of Adjustment. A citizen can ask for a deferral which the Committee deals with at the meeting itself so there is no way to know what will happen.

If people want to do that I would suggest that the lack of notice, lack of drawings easily available, and the fact that the project Planner is away would be good items to mention.

Parking Stacker

Further to Scott's post, I also spoke with Kyle Strik. He advised he had not yet had anyone ask for a deferral of the decision. He did not have any drawings of the proposed amendments. He did provide a few additional documents (some maps (including revised map), architecture firm cover letter, and a copy of the Notice). If anyone would like a copy just let me know. I'm not sure how to attach documents here.

Kyle Strik,
Application Technician, Committee of Adjustment
City Planning Division
City of Toronto, 1st Floor, West Tower
100 Queen St. W, Toronto ON M5H 2N2

t: 416-397-7771
f: 416-392-0580
e: kstrik@toronto.ca

http://www1.toronto.ca/City%20Of%20Toronto/City%20Planning/Developing%20...

Parking stacker docs

Thanks for sending the docs, Sara. I have posted them all (linked above).

-Vic

How the Committee of

How the Committee of Adjustment can make a decision without the architectural 3D concept renderings of proposed changes and the detailed plans?
Is it going to be enclosed with the walls and roof or not. What is the exact location of parking stacker or stackers?
Is a new community center double smaller than in original plan? Shouldn’t community center’s rooftop belong to the community and be used as a green roof/garden/gathering community space?
I called Kyle Strik and left a message. Should we call Ana Bailao too?

Thats just it. There ARE

Thats just it. There ARE plans but the public has not seen them. I called the C of A and Ana Bailao's office to ask how can we know about something nobody has seen. A 4o car rooftop is in my mind more than a "minor variance". I suggest you make some calls.

I spoke to Kyle Strik, and

I spoke to Kyle Strik, and what I understood is that the rooftop parking will be an open parking lot on the roof (which will be very ugly), and that the all detailed plans could be reviewed at the Committee of Adjustment Office.

Kyle called me too. Nice

Kyle called me too. Nice guy.

First off not having documents online is an embarrassment in 2014.

2 questions that I have are I ssupect that many will not want to be bothered doing the elevator and will park on the street so how can we stop that. And I had hoped that the roof could be a green one to offset the increase of pavement in this development. Is this rooftop going to be a big holder of heat or is there some kind of surface that can be used to reduce heat.

I am sure there are other questions out there that people have. Did people get notices ?

Parking stacker at 362 Wallace?

What do you think of this parking stacker idea? Sounds like it's basically replacing underground parking with an elevator to bring cars up on to the roof of the commercial buildings.

Frankly, an elevated parking lot on top of the roof next to the Railpath sounds kind of ugly to me.

Is this sort of arrangement cheaper than building an underground parking garage?

Is there a contact

Is there a contact name/number for the city for this zoning variance request? It seems ludicrous that so little information is being shared with the area.

It seems odd that we are

It seems odd that we are finding this out a week before the meeting. They must have known weeks ago. The planner, Sarah Phipps is away until August and Planning said somebody would call me back today. I am surprised that there is almost no information on this. Maybe it will look great but at this point we are in the dark.

I had heard that after

I had heard that after digging they had discovered that there were pipes they did not know about. This may be the cause.

Pipes?

Interesting. If that's the case, it makes me wonder how well the on-site soil remediation was if they didn't even find some buried pipes. Also, I guess it depends on whether those pipes are still in use. If not, just dig 'em up?

I believe they discovered a

I believe they discovered a storm drain running down the middle of the property. It was probably the famous drain where chemicals were accidentally dumped in the late 70's. I would imagine that they did find the drain during remediation; they dug deep enough.

In an industrial area or

In an industrial area or downtown (like in NYC) no problem but, I think it's a bad idea in a residential setting. I think we have enough with ugliness with Diesel Trains and unpleasant Noise Walls.

Between the walls

The walls - rail noise wall and taller building abutting the path - will make the existing open space feel like a canyon.

If I had purchased there I

If I had purchased there I would be really upset about this. The idea of having an underground spot is far different than expecting to have to park your care in a stacked type parking facility. I am sure this would be a deal breaker for some.

Parking at 362 Wallace

The people who bought townhouses will still be parking underground. This new request to change is just for the commercial building(s) along the west side that aren't constructed yet. I'm not sure if anything has been pre-sold along there yet.

I wish there was more detail available online on how this would work, how it would look, etc.

Presumably a variation on

Presumably a variation on

362 Wallace - Crane is going up

I think they're starting to put up the crane. The base of it anyway, as of this morning.

Should be a busy year on this site.

Photo: https://twitter.com/vgedris/status/434320268282982400/photo/1

Wallace Update

Click here to read recent appeal:appeal is allowed

Wallace moves forward with plans. Only the freezing weather slowing it down now.

Souda Mendes Street/Road

Interesting. Haven't read the details of this whole report, but anyone know why the Edwin Ave. extension is called Sousa Mendes Street / Road? Any context of who that's named after?

Thats odd, usually with new

Thats odd, usually with new street names they try to find names that have some direct connection to the area. No offence to Mendes but I dont see the connection.

Sousa Mendes was a Portuguese

Sousa Mendes was a Portuguese Consul General in Bordeaux France, during the second World War II . He was able with fake documents and other means help thousands of Jews and other racial minorities escape the Nazi war machine that was occupying France and taking to the death camps. So I guess certain groups in Toronto, Portuguese and Jewish are doing this to honor his name for what he did to save there lives, and deserved respect...

362 Wallace at OMB

I don't quite understand what's happening at the OMB.

Somerset Wallace Developments Limited has appealed to the Ontario Municipal Board
under subsection 34(11) of the Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P. 13, as amended, from
Council’s neglect to enact a proposed amendment to Zoning By-law 438-86 of the City
of Toronto to rezone lands respecting 362 Wallace Avenue to permit the mixed use
development comprised with residential and light industrial uses
O.M.B. File No. PL130563

Somerset Wallace Developments Limited has appealed to the Ontario Municipal Board
under subsection 22(7) of the Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P. 13, as amended, from
Council’s neglect to enact a proposed amendment to the Official Plan for the City of
Toronto to redesignate lands respecting 362 Wallace Avenue to permit the mixed use
development comprised with residential and light industrial uses
Approval Authority File No. 11 286663 STE 18 OZ
O.M.B. File No. PL130562

Does this mean that the City has just been to slow to make changes to zoning / OP? That's what it sounds like "neglect to enact a proposed amendment" means. Or does it mean that the City denied the zoning/OP changes, and the developer is trying to overturn that?

Grandfathering

I believe that this is more procedural than anything else. The City just had meetings at Planning and Growth that covered the changing of zoning of employment lands. There are still some small sticking points between the city and the developer about the Wallace property. By going to the OMB BEFORE the zoning meetings last week it means that the project can continue and would be dealt with under the zoning codes as they were at the time of the OMB filing. If they had not then it was possible that after last week the City and the developer might have had to go back to square one in the process which would be a major use and waste of time and resources. Basically it froze or grandfathered the zoning in time.

362 Wallace: permit to build a new 1 sty industrial building

http://app.toronto.ca/ApplicationStatus/details.do?folderRsn=3407266

Application: New Building
Status: Permit Issued
Location: 362 WALLACE AVE, TORONTO ON
Ward 18: Davenport
Application#:13 215602 BLD 00 NB
Issued Date: Nov 21, 2013
Project: Industrial, New Building
Description: Proposal to construct a new 1 sty industrial building with 1 level of below grade parking. 362-364 Wallace Ave.

Below-Market Rent City Space at 362 Wallace

Hi everyone, this post could be of our interest.
"The City is seeking one or more community organizations for occupancy in a Below-Market Rent City Space in Ward 18 at 362 Wallace Avenue."
It looks to me, that City of Toronto is renting out the JT community center promised by 362 Wallace developers.
Any thoughts on this? Tnx
http://www1.toronto.ca/wps/portal/contentonly?vgnextoid=fc78f40f9aae0410...

Service Agency

They are looking for somebody to run it. Although it is from the developer it is just a structure with no operating budget or staff. The United Way would be a the kind of service organization they would look for.

Update

Anyone have any updates on this development?

They started digging in

They started digging in August, but soon stopped. According to the developer there was some minor flooding.

What a shame that they felt a

What a shame that they felt a 16" high sign was necessary on Wallace, where there is next to no drive by traffic and the only people that can see the sign from more than fifteen feet away are the residence in the loft across the street. Does anyone know if this is even allowed? I was under the impression the city had strict sign bylaws.

Developers typically apply

Developers typically apply for permits for sign variances. Some just chance it so if it's obstructive and bugging you, you can contact the city and see if the variance was approved. If not, they'll ding the developers with an order. In that case, they'll have to take it down until the permit has been approved. If they went through the proper channels, then you're stuck with it, sorry.

I sent an email to Ana Bailao

I sent an email to Ana Bailao who said someone would follow up 2 weeks ago and no one did. I also spoke on the phone with someone in the sign by-law department who said there was no variance or building permit for a sign on the property but no one seems to want to do anything about it. Guess I'm stuck with the eyesore.

"Wallace Walk" sales centre

Sales Centre image
I noticed this morning that a sales centre has been set up at 1564 Bloor St. W., between Dundas West and Dorval (right next to Movie Art Decor). I guess that's why they're marketing this as "Bloor by the Park" rather than in the Junction Triangle... Looks like they're ramping up their marketing.

The junction lands

As l read all your comments, l have to come to the conclusion that everyone living in the junction or who plans to move there, must be on bad drugs. Having lived next door to St. Rita's on Edwin, back in the early 60's to the mid 70's, the only memories l have of winter was yellow snow. In fact, until l was 10, l thought the natural colour of snow was yellow. There were so many foundries in that area, the pollution and toxic chemicals released into the ground and atmosphere was alarming by todays standards. Now most of my relatives, including my uncle and dad, have passed away with lung cancer...so for all you dumb dreamers who want to live in the Junction area...you better wake up.

Contaminated lands

Yes be nice here, no name calling please. But you are right. I too remembered the yellow snow, and i'm sure everyone hasn't dug up there yards or parks to clean up the toxins...here's a good link for everyone...please read.
http://www.yorku.ca/anderson/geog3040%20f10/edwin%20avenue.pdf

You are way behind the times

First off it's called Junction Triangle. Second most of the industry is gone and the soil has been cleaned up and is being redeveloped. Crime is way down and lots of new families live in the area. There are new pubs and businesses and the community is working towards major projects such as Railpath 2, a new playground, and a new Library. Since you have not been here in over 40 years you should pay a visit and and develop an informed opinion as to whether people are on drugs or not.

The toxic chemicals have

The toxic chemicals have already taken its toll on you. Don't tell me how great the junction is today..its still a hell hole...just go to Pelham Park Gardens on a Saturday night and see for your self. You bunch of yuppy idiots moved to the junction because the housing is still cheap and cheap for a good reason. People with any brains moved out of there decades ago. Like l stated before all my relatives have either died or are dying of cancer because we all lived in that damn junction!
So when you people are diagnosed with cancer in a few years...remember you were warned.

hell-hole (not)

i strongly suggest that john take a wander into perth park on any given friday evening where upwards of 30 families will often be found sharing in a wonderful potluck dinner. or how about campbell park with their saturday night suppers and campfires. or how about any one of the small business on our strip of dupont, whose owners always greet you with a smile. or how about the library where the librarians know almost everyone-child and adult-by name. or how about perth avenue public school and its soon-to-be new school yard, won through an incredibly successful COMMUNITY driven campaign to win a $50,000 grant.

sure, maybe the JUNCTION TRIANGLE WAS cheap a few years ago and maybe that is the reason some of us moved here, but its the people that chose to move here that have created the wonderful neighbourhood that now exists here. i am so thankful that we moved into the junction triangle seven years ago. i can't imagine living anywhere else.

calling an entire engaged and supportive neighbourhood a "hell-hole" is completely ridiculous and doesn't even deserve the time it's taken me to write this reply.

Be nice; Stay on-topic

Please cut out the name-calling and stay on-topic.

This message forum is specifically about the 362/370 Wallace Ave. property. If you have information to contribute about this site, please do so.

If you have general *factual* information about pollution in the neighbourhood, please feel free to start a new message forum.

But name-calling (e.g. "idiots", etc.) is not welcome here. Please read the Code of Conduct before further posting.

Further off-topic / name-calling posts here will be deleted.

Unsubstantiated

I have read all of the medical and environmental studies that are at the Perth Library and at City Hall relating to Junction Triangle . Your broad alarmist statements are not borne out in any findings I have ever seen. So unless you have some secret information that 30 years of monitoring and study missed I suggest you stop needlessly alarming past or current residents with unsubstantiated claims. I dont know what your problem is but having the entire community rally a few weeks ago for celebrating Railpath, and then raising funds 2 weeks later for a new school playground; both events attended by new and life long residents makes your statement and name calling untrue.

Dear John, I can appreciate

Dear John,
I can appreciate your concern but the way it was delivered suggests that no one can really take you seriously. It was written with such hate and disdain for the current and past residents. I think we are all well aware of what was in the area but I think the same can be said of many areas of our city along with other major cities in N.America(New York, Chicago, Baltimore etc) that have been revitalized as a result of those factories being moved and cleaned up to bring more residential possibility. The cancer statement is so general and perhaps people should go after the companies(including tobacco companies) instead of hating on people who are attempting to make homes in the neighborhood. What use is of it to hate on people who have bought in the area? If there is anyone liable spread your energy towards the companies that do that to all of its consumers on the daily. To equate it to one neighborhood is simply ignorant.

362 Wallace - "Wallace Walk"

The developer now has a marketing website online - http://www.wallacewalktowns.com/

It's interesting to note that they're marketing the walkability of our neighbourhood. Though I wish they put a bit more of an immediate local focus, rather than hyping up High Park (1.2km away) and Bloor West Village (2+km away!). Also, it's not in "Bloor by The Park" (that's the BIA on Bloor between Dundas and Keele), but the Junction Triangle! Wish they'd give some love to our stretches of Bloor and Dupont.

But agree that one of the awesome things about our 'hood is the walkability and close proximity to so many shops, services, and attractions. This site's location next to the Railpath and Wallace Bridge is awesome (apart from increased diesel train traffic...)

The marketing people seem

The marketing people seem really confused as to where 362 Wallace is. They show a picture of the Railpath signs because it is a "W" but they cant be bothered to mention Railpath. Yikes. JT doesnt need High Park to be cool. : )

362 Wallace article at Urban Toronto

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.