Director, Community Planning, Toronto and East York District

Transcription

1 STAFF REPORT October 25, 2005 To: From: : Subject: Toronto and East York Community Council Director, Community Planning, Toronto and East York District Status Report OPA & Rezoning Application STE 28 OZ Applicant: McCarthy Tetrault Architect: Page + Steele and Kuwabara Payne McKenna Blumberg Architects 15 York St (Block 5 Railway Lands East) Ward 28, Toronto Centre-Rosedale Purpose: To provide the status on the above-noted application and to respond to the motions tabled at the May 3, 2005 Toronto and East York Community Council meeting with respect to the Preliminary Report on this application dated April 21, Financial Implications and Impact Statement: There are no financial implications resulting from the adoption of this report. Recommendations: It is recommended that this report be received for information. Background: In March 2005, staff received an application to amend the Official Plan and Zoning By-law of the former City of Toronto for a mixed-use development at 15 York Street (Block 5 of the Railway Lands East Secondary Plan) consisting of the following:

2 two residential condominium point towers containing a total of 890 units; - sports themed and destination retail; - large specialty food store; - broadcast facilities; - a lounge and restaurant; - offices; - a hotel with approximately 170 rooms; - entertainment space including a seat theatre featuring Toronto Raptors and Toronto Maple Leaf highlights; - a daycare; and - approximately 873 below grade parking spaces. The proposed residential gross floor area (gfa) totalled 59,000 m2 and made up 61% of the total gfa, while the proposed non-residential floor area totalled 37,150 m2 or 39% of the total gfa. City staff had pre-application discussions with the applicant expressing the need to protect this property for primarily non-residential development. The proposal as originally submitted did not respond adequately to the pre-application direction given by City staff. At its meeting of May 3, 2005, Toronto and East York Community Council modified the recommendations of the Preliminary Report from the Director, Community Planning, South District, dated April 21, 2005, for an Official Plan and Zoning Amendment for 15 York Street (Block 5 Railways Lands East). TEYCC made the following modifications to Recommendations 2 and 3 of the report: (2) requested the Director, Community Planning, South District to meet with other City departments and the applicant to further review the issues of concern raised regarding the achievement of 50% office space, and report back to the Toronto and East York Community Council after the community consultation meeting; and (3) prior to submitting the final report, requested the Director, Community Planning, South District report to the Toronto and East York Community Council on the feasibility of achieving the policy objective regarding commercial and office space in this precinct. The submission of an application for an extensive amount of residential development on a block with specific policies in the Secondary Plan protecting the area for non-residential uses coupled with the direction received by TEYCC required an analysis and review of the applicability of these land use policies in the Railway Lands East Secondary Plan, with an emphasis on Block 5. Railway Lands East Secondary Plan In 1986, the Ontario Municipal Board approved the Part II Plan for the Railway Lands. The subject property was designated Block 5, Precinct B. In 1990, the City conducted a review of the 1985 Official Plan. Prior to 1991, the Railway Lands Secondary Plan provided for mixed-use development in this area and the Council of the day, after a thorough review of the 1985 Official Plan and Part II Plan, determined that residential development rights should be removed from

3 - 3 - these lands. Other changes to the Part II Plan included modifications to provisions for density, height, community services and facilities and the environment. This part of the Railway Lands was envisioned as the extension of the Financial District, the City s and Region s premier office centre. According to the Plan, new development in the Railway Lands East should have a mix of uses, and a form, character and environmental quality which will ensure that the area be used by people for a wide variety of purposes. Redevelopment of lands in the Railway Lands East are meant to satisfy a broad range of commercial, residential, institutional, cultural, recreational and open space needs, while ensuring effective and efficient transportation services. The Secondary Plan designates Block 5 as a Mixed Use Area D and together with commercial development permitted in other Blocks in the vicinity regards this area as a commercial extension of the existing Financial District north of Front Street and a location for the primary concentration of office uses within the Railway Lands East. The Plan further states that on lands designated Mixed Use Area D, by-laws may be passed to permit buildings containing only nonresidential uses. The Plan does contemplate residential development in this precinct. Development to the east and west of this commercial extension of the Financial District, south of the rail corridor, is to be residential at relatively high densities, with street-related and service uses. Air Canada Centre In January 1995, the Toronto Raptors Basketball Club Ltd. submitted an application to amend the Railway Lands East Secondary Plan and Zoning By-law to permit the construction of the Air Canada Centre (ACC) at 40 Bay Street. The amendments to the Secondary Plan and Zoning Bylaw included terminating the proposed extension of Bremner Boulevard at York Street rather than extending the east-west street through to Bay Street, and reconfiguring the Union Plaza publicly-accessible open space on Block 5. Until the submission of the Official Plan and Zoning By-law application for the Air Canada Centre, the Secondary Plan did not contemplate an urban stadium as part of the range of uses for the Railway Lands East. However, the Plan was amended to permit an urban stadium and multipurpose facility which may include a range of non-residential uses on lands designated Mixed Use Area E (Block 3, 40 Bay Street, Air Canada Centre Lands). The applicant for the stadium proposed retrofitting the existing Postal Delivery Building located at 40 Bay Street to incorporate the new stadium. The Postal Delivery Building was designated by City Council as a building of architectural and historical merit. The Bay Street and Lake Shore Boulevard facades of the building were retained as part of the stadium project. At the time of receipt of the application for the ACC, City Council deemed it an important objective to attract an urban stadium in the City core adjacent to Union Station. There was some potential that the stadium might locate outside the City and because the applicant was also willing to utilize the existing historically designated Postal Delivery Building and preserve and

4 - 4 - retrofit the building to accommodate the stadium Council supported amendments to permit the ACC on this site. Subsequent to the approval of the stadium, Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment (MLSE) became the owner and the Toronto Maple Leafs also became a major tenant. The ACC was opened in February 1999 as a multi-use sports complex with a seating capacity of 19,800, and also includes a 15-storey office building on the northeast portion of the site. The construction of the Air Canada Centre in this location has changed the nature of the precinct from a primarily commercial/office precinct as contemplated for in the Secondary Plan by introducing mixed/entertainment uses. It still remains a very important City objective to concentrate commercial development in this Precinct, particularly given the ongoing work associated with Union Station. The large investment in the revitalization of Union Station, including the high speed railway link to Pearson Airport, is best served by the construction of new office buildings in the vicinity of the station. The policies in the Railway Lands East Secondary Plan as they pertain to commercial development in this precinct are still relevant; however, the unique relationship between the ACC and the proposed Block 5 development must also be taken into context. Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment is a co-owner of the Block 5 site and will also be involved in its development. The Block 5 development includes proposed uses associated with the Toronto Raptors and Toronto Maple Leafs and programming for both facilities will be related. Further, the two sites are planned to be physically linked via a proposed bridge structure over Bremner Boulevard which will be an extension of the City s PATH system, also an overall City objective. It should be noted that, amongst the objectives for the Railway Lands East as a whole, new development is to have a mix of uses including commercial, residential, institutional, cultural, recreational and open spaces. The proposed development of Block 5 includes a mix of all of these uses within the site. Comments: Further to the direction given by TEYCC at its meeting of May 3, 2005, City Planning staff held meetings with other City staff to discuss issues surrounding the application. A number of technical issues were raised that will be commented on in further detail once the circulation of the application to City divisions has been completed. These issues will form part of the discussion and recommendations in a Final Report on the application that will go to TEYCC some time in the new year. Staff held several meetings with the applicant to discuss maximizing the amount of nonresidential gross floor area being proposed. The proposal has gone through several modifications in an effort to respond to the non-residential policies of the Railway Lands East Secondary Plan. The changes to the gfa of the non-residential component of the application have been denoted in the following table:

5 - 5 - Original Proposal (April 2005) GFA (m2) Current Proposal (September 2005) GFA (m2) Food Store 4,980 Food Store 4,920 Retail 14,100 Retail 10,720 Hotel 12,990 Hotel 14,760 Office 4,460 Office 15,525 Daycare 580 Daycare 580 Total non-residential 37,110 Total non-residential 46,505 The revised proposal makes no changes to the overall residential gfa which still totals 59,000 m2; however, there has been a significant increase in the non-residential gfa uses, particularly in the office component which has been increased by approximately 10,000 m2. As a result of the increase to non-residential uses, the overall gfa of the proposal has increased from 96,150 m2 to 105,485 m2. The overall non-residential component comprises approximately 44% or almost half of the total gfa for the entire project. The proposal will not fully realize the non-residential use objectives of the Secondary Plan for this block. However, the significant increase in the office component of the project, and its unique and complimentary uses to the Air Canada Centre make the non-residential component of the revised proposal an acceptable form of mixed-use development for this block specifically. Further, the mix of uses and amenities associated with this development will make it an attractive destination for both office workers and residents in this Precinct. Staff is of the view that the overall policies in the Railway Lands East Secondary Plan are still relevant and will seek to achieve full compliance to these policies for the other Blocks in the Precinct, which are critical, particularly with the investment in Union Station and the new Official Plan s transit first policies. Further, and importantly, given the new Provincial Policy Statement, the remaining lands in the Precinct are not needed to meet the City s housing targets. This area may continue to feel pressure to permit increasing residential development on sites that have been designated for commercial development. While each proposal will be reviewed separately, and on its own merits, the potential approval of the relatively unique Block 5 proposal, given its unique relationship to the ACC, should not be seen as creating a precedent for other such developments in this Precinct. Conclusions: Toronto and East York Community Council, at its meeting of May 3, 2005, directed staff to review the policy objectives of the Railway Lands East Secondary Plan on achieving commercial and office space in this Precinct. Staff met with the applicant on several occasions to improve the amount of non-residential gfa being proposed. As a result of these meetings, the applicant has submitted a revised proposal that significantly increases the non-residential gfa uses, in particular, with respect to the office component. Given this increase and the relationship between the proposed mixed-use development of Block 5 and the programming opportunities with the Air Canada Centre, staff supports the circulation of the revised proposal to City Divisions for their review and comment.

6 - 6 - Contact: Carlo Bonanni, Senior Planner - Downtown Section Ph: (416) Fax: (416) cbonann@toronto.ca Gary Wright Director Community Planning, Toronto and East York District DOC -tm