Went to the meeting tonight. As expected, there was a lot of opposition and local resistance. Even at 24 storeys, this project was unacceptable to the audience. Height, massing, and shadowing were still a large issue. The building having no parking was also a huge issue with the crowd, as some students will inevitably have cars which would require permit parking and overwhelm the already short supply on the streets in the area. The group of people from Glasgow Street, just south of the proposed building, were extra NIMBY-istic because this large mass will directly loom over their small side street. Also concern about the 700 or so units/people in the residence. Issue was brought up regarding the fact the "transient" population will cause safety and garbage concerns to the area. Names such as "boarding house" were shouted out, and typical student residence problems such as partying, drinking, drugs, sleaze, etc. were shared.
Important fact disclosed was that this is a private developers' residence project, not exactly a U of T rez building. The University has a part in developing it but the management will be by the developer (Knightstone?). Locals were concerned that because since this isn't a U of T building, it would pose security and safety problems. The U of T police will not have jurisdiction within this Rez, only private security guards will maintain order. This building will be available for a student of any university/college. People thought this kind of a concept would be potentially dangerous.
Don Schmitt (from Diamond & Schmitt) and Adam Vaughan were there to address the crowd. Schmitt presented two alternate proposals. One was 24s and the other was 22s, with a slight variation at the rear of the building. The would be a lobby entrance on College Street, as well as retail space for a cafe and bookstore. I was impressed by the renderings. The new renderings do look different from the ones we've seen before though. Gone is the fritted/frosted glass. The new design features more standard, grid window. The shape of the tower is still the same though. It reminds me of original design for
Cube Lofts (N-Blox?) but with more box shifting. Overall, this revised proposal looks very promising but still faces stiff opposition ahead.