Category: intensificatioin

Claridge, condos, hintonburg, infill, intensificatioin, LeBreton Flats

West Wellington Condo Mania

Westsideaction

A new condo is planned for 1433 Wellington, a half block east of Island Park Drive. It is almost opposite the recent Domicile building at the corner of Picadilly. The site is currently a small strip mall. I think a new mid-rise condo is a big improvement over the strip mall and worthwhile bit of intensification. The building will have vehicular access from the side facing the Loeb/Metro store. The building exterior is very much in the same style as the building at 200 Lett Street at the corner of Wellington, the first condo built in the current LeBreton Flats … Continue reading West Wellington Condo Mania

Claridge, condos, infill, intensificatioin, LeBreton Flats

LeBreton Flats condo grows

Westsideaction

Claridge is busy building the second tower / second half of the first building at 200 Lett Street on LeBreton Flats. Now that the garage levels are in, the swiming pool cast, and the ground floor poured, the remaining floors will pour quickly, maybe one floor per week. The new building will be a seven storey podium of yellow brick, with a tower on the east side going to 14 floors, with an exterior of yellow brick and glass (same glass as first tower, but second tower will read as mostly brick). The architecture or style of this building is … Continue reading LeBreton Flats condo grows

condos, downtown, infill, intensificatioin

Slow Progress

Westsideaction

Minto built these stacked townhouses (a two or three-storey unit above a two storey unit, each with sidewalk-level private entrances) a few years ago. Earlier this summer, there was a fire in one of the units. The whole row of houses was evacuated, and remains empty to this day. Some units are boarded up at the rear. Others sit with six month’s accumulation of grime and dust on the windows and porches. The units are wood-frame construction. There is not a sprinkler system. In addition to townhouse-looking stacked units, a number of low-rise apartment buildings in the city are also … Continue reading Slow Progress

intensificatioin, little Italy, Preston street

Infill Mixed Use development

Westsideaction

Watching construction on Preston Street itself is further complicated by the similtaneous construction of this infill mixed-use development. There will be storefronts along the Little Italy widened sidewalk, and six apartments (rentals) above. The building is steel frame with wood construction. Along with the camera-person, there was the usual collection of sidewalk superintendants out all day, every day, ensuring that someone else gets to work. And there is lots to see. This photo shows a three-wheeled fork lift that came piggy-backed on the long flatbed truck, it has picked up a load of floor trusses and is carrying them over … Continue reading Infill Mixed Use development

Bayview-Carling CDP, intensificatioin

Underutilitzed lot on Champagne

Westsideaction

Half way along Champagne Avenue is this drastically underutilized lot behind a 1960’s-era apt building. The lot is used for surface parking, and is not a desirable long-term use of valuable urban land. Given that it has street frontage along Champagne, I expect someday the owners will apply to relocate the parking underground and build condos — either apartment condos or townhouse condos — along the street. Depending on the condition of the existing apartments, they may even demolish the building and start anew. Continue reading Underutilitzed lot on Champagne

855 Carling, Bayview-Carling CDP, Carling Ave, condos, Dows Lake, infill, intensificatioin

Out with the old, in with the condos

Westsideaction

The printing establishment currently located at the corner of Hickory Street and Champagne Avenue is the only remaining industrial use in this section of the Bayview-Champagne corridor. It once was an industrial heartland of the city, with convenient rail access (the tracks were relocated into the cut in 1963, before that they ran at street level). The old Sunoco fuel depot site has been cleaned up and is currently zoned for a 40,000 sq ft building. The former Campbell Iron and Steel plant at the corner of Carling/Champagne (now a satellite parking lot for the Civic Hospital) is in process to become … Continue reading Out with the old, in with the condos

Bayview-Carling CDP, intensificatioin

East Side of Champagne Avenue

Westsideaction

The park at the corner of Beech and Champagne. It has bocce courts, playing fields (shown with ice-rink boards just delivered), a bicycle-polo park, and on the far side a play structure. The line of trees in the background is along the OTrain cut. Most of these trees will be lost when the cut is widened for the second phase of LRT construction, should the SW LRT service actually get built. This park could easily be expanded to the east by covering the cut with concrete girders and a playing field. The area on the other side of the cut … Continue reading East Side of Champagne Avenue

855 Carling, Bayview-Carling CDP, infill, intensificatioin

Champagne Ave condo site on the market

Westsideaction

The Acquerello condo was in pre-sales several years ago but did not sell enough units to go ahead with construction. It was located at  the corner of Hickory Street and Champagne Avenue, one block south of the Carling Avenue O-Train station. The proposed building was quite large and offered nice layouts with views of Dows Lake and the downtown plus easy access to rapid transit. The lot is now back on the market. Domicile has proved there is a market for condos at this location, with his first tower at “Merion Square” built, and another two condo towers nearing construction. … Continue reading Champagne Ave condo site on the market

housing policy, infill, intensificatioin3 Comments

Is Smart Growth Smart?

Westsideaction

Most anyone reading this blog will be aware of “smart growth”, intensification, infill, the Portland nirvana example, the glorious Vancouver leadership, and other urban design trends. A number of posts back, I questioned whether the assumptions of high density redevelopment in the existing inner city areas made sense. Do people moving from suburbs to infills exhibit the behaviour of the inner city population or do they bring with them their suburban lifestyle and consumption patterns? It strikes me that there is an element of geographic determinism going on here: if the inner city population exhibits certain characteristics now, moving people … Continue reading Is Smart Growth Smart?