Quote:
Originally Posted by reidjr
You could have the worlds best architect come have great plans for a 30 floor building but people would still be aginst it because of the height.
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I'm not so sure. The Mixed Use Centre that we all bought into goes from Scott to Wellington. We were careful to ask for - and get - a transition in the Official Plan. If the project were sensitive to that transition requirement by being toward the Scott St. side of the Mixed Use Centre, with a gradual building of height from the south to north, and closer to the centre of the zone from Parkdale/Holland, it might fly. The transition could reasonably start with 8 storey buildings along Parkdale with appropriate setbacks. The seven-storey KRP building, for example, at Spencer doesn't intrude on the Parkdale sidewalk. The developer was good working with us on the garage entrances and some design features to minimize the big wall along Parkdale. I don't think it's had an overly negative impact on the neighbouring two-storey houses (personal opinion). We didn't oppose that development. Mixed Use Centres are going to be dense, after all.
You can certainly see how things could swoop up towards Scott/Holland without a huge impact on Hintonburg visually or in terms of overwhelming the nearby residential areas if it's sensitively treated. Personally, and not on behalf of my association, I could see something like this where the Beer Store is or the lot immediately to the east, with a transition back down to eight storeys along Parkdale.
Traffic studies will be interesting. Parkdale and Wellington are both already choked during peak periods, including the weekend when the Market is in operation. The only viable access in and out will be on Spencer via Holland, which rules out easy Queensway access. That's probably not a big deal, though, if people are using Holland/Scott to get downtown or to Hull during weekday peak periods. From a traffic perspective, though, the closer to Holland/Scott the better with respect to traffic patterns.