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09-16-09, 06:07 PM
In today's Toronto Star. Their articles scroll off after a week, so I've quoted some of it below.
http://thestar.ca/yourhome/newsfeatures/article/696394
'Car-free' condo: 42 storeys, no parking
A controversial 42-storey condo building that will be built without permanent parking spots cleared a key hurdle yesterday.
The Toronto-East York community council overruled city staff skeptical about the dearth of parking to allow a plan that provides for only nine car-share rental spots, plus 315 spaces for bicycles.
The condominium would go up on the site of the century-old Royal Canadian Military Institute on University Ave. near Dundas St., which would be demolished, with elements of its facade preserved at the base and a thin tower above.
"If you look at the evidence of what sells downtown, the majority of units under 750 square feet in the downtown core sell without parking,'' said Stephen Deveaux, a vice-president with the developer, Tribute Communities. Parking spots typically add $20,000 or more to the cost of a downtown condo.
Deveaux called the project, which still needs approval from full city council, an opportunity to design and market an "environmentally progressive building." With so many jobs and handy transit nearby, the units will sell, Deveaux said.
<snip>
It also won praise yesterday from Franz Hartmann, co-executive director of the Toronto Environmental Alliance, who said such buildings are uncommon – if they exist at all. "In the past it was natural to allocate parking spots, but in 21st century Toronto, where we're battling climate change, we don't need that any more,'' he said.
The few parking spots in the plan will be devoted to car-share arrangements, whereby residents can rent a car as needed by the hour.
<snip>
Normally, building plans follow a formula for how much parking space should be allowed; current standards, if applied to the building, would provide approximately 140 parking spaces for residents.
Interesting stuff in the two sidebars too:
ON A CLEAR DAY, YOU CAN SEE METRO
What does it take to live car-less-ly? Schlepping groceries and other stuff home on foot can take some effort, especially in a downtown area that's less residential than some.
From 426 University Ave., site of a proposed condo building with no parking, it is:
10 blocks to the nearest supermarket (Metro at Gould and Jarvis Sts.) [Although one of the comments says there's another one only 3 blocks away]
4 blocks to the nearest LCBO (595 Bay St.) [That's a government liquor store.]
4 blocks to the nearest Canadian Tire (Bay and Dundas Sts.)
6 blocks to the nearest mall (Eaton Centre)
On the other hand, it's:
A few steps to St. Patrick's subway station
2 blocks to the opera house
3 blocks to major hospitals
5 blocks to Queen's Park
SHARE THE SPACE
Car-sharing firms should be awarded trial permits for six parking areas on downtown streets, Toronto's works committee recommended this week. The firms would pay an annual fee of $200; the four areas would hold two to six cars each.
A staff report said car sharing, a membership system for renting vehicles by the hour, cuts traffic by making it easier to live in the city without owning a car.
Some councillors said $200 is too low for commercial operators and will reduce revenue from metered parking. "We may not be driving the cars, but we sure are being taken for a ride," said Councillor Denzil Minnan-Wong. Others noted none of the areas is metered and argued that car sharing advances city goals of fewer cars and cleaner air.
The proposal must still be approved by city council.
There are currently 117 comments on the piece, with the expected mix of pro, con and clueless.
Discuss!
http://thestar.ca/yourhome/newsfeatures/article/696394
'Car-free' condo: 42 storeys, no parking
A controversial 42-storey condo building that will be built without permanent parking spots cleared a key hurdle yesterday.
The Toronto-East York community council overruled city staff skeptical about the dearth of parking to allow a plan that provides for only nine car-share rental spots, plus 315 spaces for bicycles.
The condominium would go up on the site of the century-old Royal Canadian Military Institute on University Ave. near Dundas St., which would be demolished, with elements of its facade preserved at the base and a thin tower above.
"If you look at the evidence of what sells downtown, the majority of units under 750 square feet in the downtown core sell without parking,'' said Stephen Deveaux, a vice-president with the developer, Tribute Communities. Parking spots typically add $20,000 or more to the cost of a downtown condo.
Deveaux called the project, which still needs approval from full city council, an opportunity to design and market an "environmentally progressive building." With so many jobs and handy transit nearby, the units will sell, Deveaux said.
<snip>
It also won praise yesterday from Franz Hartmann, co-executive director of the Toronto Environmental Alliance, who said such buildings are uncommon – if they exist at all. "In the past it was natural to allocate parking spots, but in 21st century Toronto, where we're battling climate change, we don't need that any more,'' he said.
The few parking spots in the plan will be devoted to car-share arrangements, whereby residents can rent a car as needed by the hour.
<snip>
Normally, building plans follow a formula for how much parking space should be allowed; current standards, if applied to the building, would provide approximately 140 parking spaces for residents.
Interesting stuff in the two sidebars too:
ON A CLEAR DAY, YOU CAN SEE METRO
What does it take to live car-less-ly? Schlepping groceries and other stuff home on foot can take some effort, especially in a downtown area that's less residential than some.
From 426 University Ave., site of a proposed condo building with no parking, it is:
10 blocks to the nearest supermarket (Metro at Gould and Jarvis Sts.) [Although one of the comments says there's another one only 3 blocks away]
4 blocks to the nearest LCBO (595 Bay St.) [That's a government liquor store.]
4 blocks to the nearest Canadian Tire (Bay and Dundas Sts.)
6 blocks to the nearest mall (Eaton Centre)
On the other hand, it's:
A few steps to St. Patrick's subway station
2 blocks to the opera house
3 blocks to major hospitals
5 blocks to Queen's Park
SHARE THE SPACE
Car-sharing firms should be awarded trial permits for six parking areas on downtown streets, Toronto's works committee recommended this week. The firms would pay an annual fee of $200; the four areas would hold two to six cars each.
A staff report said car sharing, a membership system for renting vehicles by the hour, cuts traffic by making it easier to live in the city without owning a car.
Some councillors said $200 is too low for commercial operators and will reduce revenue from metered parking. "We may not be driving the cars, but we sure are being taken for a ride," said Councillor Denzil Minnan-Wong. Others noted none of the areas is metered and argued that car sharing advances city goals of fewer cars and cleaner air.
The proposal must still be approved by city council.
There are currently 117 comments on the piece, with the expected mix of pro, con and clueless.
Discuss!