The latest amendments to a proposal for a seven-storey development on Avenue Road continue to draw density concerns from local residents.
Mady Development Corp. (MDC) proposed the building on a site bounded by Fairlawn Avenue to the north and Brookdale Avenue to the south.
According to City of Toronto Community Planning, the newest plans were reviewed during a public community consultation meeting Dec. 11, 2012.
There, MDC’s amended proposal showed 139 residential units with a planned floor space of 16,023 square metres.
That means the mixed-use residential and commercial building would exceed the site’s maximum permitted density by 24 per cent.
The proposal also called for 234 total parking spaces within two levels of underground parking. Access to the site would be from driveways on Brookdale Avenue and Fairlawn Avenue.
The plan’s original incarnation, as it first appeared in a preliminary report over a year ago, also exceeded the site’s maximum density. However, it did so then by almost 32 per cent.
At the time, this discrepancy between proposed and allowed densities was already a cause for concern among nearby residents.
Worries emerged about the potential for increased traffic gridlock, crowding, street shadowing and shifting of property values.
Farley Moss, a resident of Fairlawn Avenue just a few doors down from the proposed development, said he and his wife, Miriam, still feel the same way a year later.
He and his wife have lived in the area for 10 years, and on Fairlawn for approximately three. They have been well aware of the developments going up around them, he said.
Comparing the proposed units to those in the 80-unit Tribute Communities building that went up across the street, he argued that quantity seemed to trump quality.
“This one’s a lot larger than the other one — a lot more condos, a lot cheaper,” Moss said. “The sign says $400,000 plus. I don’t know what the higher-end ones are going to be, but they definitely are not going to be to the same calibre as [Tribute’s.]”
Some condo units in the seven-storey Tribute Communities building at 1717 Avenue Rd. are valued at millions of dollars.
Paul Baker, president of the South Armour Heights Residents Association, said he is sad to see iconic neighbourhood businesses, such as Bistro on Avenue and Fairlawn Market, be displaced by the development. However, he thinks the proposed building will be a good addition to the area nonetheless.
He also said the developer behind it seems to be conscientious about the area’s residents.
“There’s some bad characters out there and there’s some good characters out there, but these guys seem to be the real deal,” Baker said. “They keep their word, try to make it work … and have a good relationship with the community.”
John Andreevski, the senior planner at Toronto’s community planning, said staff will produce a final report incorporating findings from last year’s community consultation.
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