| Bridlewood
Mall Redevelopment &
Finch/Warden Revitalization Study
BRIDLEWOOD MALL UPDATE
excerpted from the Fall 2011 Newsletter
In 2007, I alerted you of the proposed Bridlewood Mall
Development Project to build eight condominium buildings in
the Mall parking lot. The original plan included 1,370 units
with a maximum building height of 38-storeys.
A Citizens' Working Group was established to work with my
office and City staff to endeavour to have a more reasonable
development. The members worked tirelessly with the
community and put in numerous hours of their time for a
common goal to benefit the neighbourhood. Three years later,
in 2010, the developer agreed to reduce the number of units
to 975 and the maximum height of the buildings to
25-storeys.
In 2011, changes are proposed to this project since a new
Target Canada store is planned to be built in this mall.
Target indicated to the mall owners that it requires a clear
sight line to Finch Avenue for their signage. Accordingly,
to build 25-storeys at the corner of Warden and Finch
Avenues was now not feasible and subsequently the plans have
changed.
I met with the developers early this year. They indicated
that the number of units will remain unchanged at 975,
however, the size of each individual unit will be reduced.
In addition, they are now proposing to build all three
buildings at the north end of the mall (Warden and Glen
Springs Avenues) instead of in phases.
These changes would mean that construction would finish
sooner than planned. In addition to the accelerated
timeframe, there would also be a larger green space at the
corner of Warden and Finch Avenues.
Community Council Approves 975 Units at Bridlewood Mall on August
17th
Dear Friends and Neighbours
I had originally sent out an e-mail to all my councillor
colleagues last month to defer this item until the neighbourhood
got a good deal. Not one councillor responded to my e-mail.
I was told point blank by a councillor that my position
would not be supported. From this, it was evident that lobbying
had occurred by the developer.
Consulting with members of the Citizen's Advisory Group
and Stand Up Bridletowne I embarked to get a visible benefit
for our community.
Subject to both City Council and Library Board approvals:
The Bridlewood Library which is the 3rd busiest Community
Library in Toronto will expand. It will move next to Shoppers
Drug Mart commencing October 1st. Funding of $2.4 million dollars
will be dedicated to the Library with $300,000 coming from Councillor
Kelly's ward.
It will temporarily occupy 8,000 square feet with a further
1,200 square feet to be occupied. The Library will sign a 20
year lease.
Further the Advisory Group will have one last opportunity
for changes and comments on the Finch Warden Revitalization
Report which will go to Council.
The 975 units will be in two phases. The first will be
475 however, the developer indicated that he would start with
a 200 unit building to see how well he can sell units. There
is still discussion that the full development can take 2-15
years. In the short term, any building would commence in 2012.
One amendment was accepted by Community Council to provide 1
car spot instead of a .9 spot for all one bed room units. I
do not want to see cars overflow onto side streets.
Along with you, I was shocked that any development would
occur on a parking lot. Unfortunately the Official Plan allows
for this and without any height restrictions. The original proposal
asked for about 1,400 units with included tall towers of up to
38 stories. The tallest under this plan will be 25.
We could not stop this development and in addition, with
the support of the Planning Department we did not have the resources
to hire Community Planners and fight this at OMB. With Councillors
on side it was a done deal.
I am grateful to Mr. Adam Brown, who while doing his job
for the developer, acknowledged my push to have something of
substance (the Library) for the Community. A last minute agreement
prior to the Community Council was worked out with the Library
Staff, developer and mall management.
The anxiety is over and a conclusion while not popular
was rendered. I will have to monitor the effects of traffic,
sewers, electric power, TTC service, social and other issues
that may arise from this decision. As always, I ask you to help
be my eyes and ears to alert me to problems or potential problems
that may arise.
Thank you for working with me to make the best out of a
very unpopular situation.
Both the Bridlewood Mall Redevelopment and the Finch Warden
Area Study are being decided on in Scarborough Community Council
on August 17th, 2010 at 1:30 p.m. at the Scarborough Civic
Centre. We encourage all residents to come speak out concerning
the project. Your voices are vital in informing the other nine
Scarborough Councillors who will be voting on the matter. For
more information, download the notices
here and
here.
If you would want to be heard, notify the City Clerk's
office at the number below to schedule a time to speak. If you
cannot attend in person, send a letter via mail, fax, or email.
City Clerk's
office
Attention: Yvonne Davies, Administrator Scarborough Community
Council
10th floor 100 Queen Street West
Toronto ON M5H 2N2
Tel: 416-396-7287
Fax: 416-396-4301
Email:
scc@toronto.ca
Your voices are important to support our community, and I hope
to see you there.
In 2007, I alerted you of a proposal which was brought
forward to build eight buildings, totalling 1,370 units, on
the Bridlewood Mall parking lot. Since that time, we have established
a citizen’s Working Group from this Ward (39) and from residents
south of Finch Avenue (Ward 40) to represent the community’s
interests.
After numerous meetings, we compiled a Finch-Warden Revitalization
Study to map the type of future development the community would
consider in our area.
The developer, Malibu Inc., is now proposing six buildings,
totalling 975 units, with 25 storeys in the tallest building.
They have also mentioned contributing $1,641 per unit towards
community benefits as well as some monies for a pre-payment
of development charges. City Planning Staff is supportive of
the development. The current library at Bridlewood Mall is undersized
for our community and this amount of money would not even be
sufficient for the upgrades our community deserves.
Both the community and I have indicated that the current
infrastructure (Hydro, Transit, etc.) cannot accommodate this
density. As mentioned in one meeting: this is a community
on top of a community which makes the strain on the existing
infrastructure even greater.
In addition, our community is categorized as a priority
neighbourhood. The name is misleading so I’d like to clarify:
Priority neighbourhoods lack social infrastructure and have
problems associated with them. Therefore, this currently proposed
development will not benefit our community.
The project is subject to up to 20% affordable units, which
the community indicated would be needed for seniors. We can
press for the affordable housing or the community benefit monies,
but not for both options. I feel that at a minimum, we should
have enough funding for a properly-sized library which will
benefit the entire community – seniors, adults, youth and children.
City Staff has not yet made their recommendations on this
proposal. Once they do, it will be a challenge to appeal or
argue against the City’s position at the OMB (Ontario Municipal
Board). Your comments are welcome.
|
Resources |
