City
Are these condos too big for Lake Shore & Park Lawn?
Toronto's Design Review Panel thinks more than 60 floors is too much for Etobicoke's prime waterfront. The giant Eau Du Soleil residential development planned for Lake Shore Boulevard West and Park Lawn was recently panned by the committee of industry experts charged with overseeing aesthetics, urban design, and landscaping of major construction projects in the city.
The building, as it was originally pitched, would have been split between two differently-sized towers and a sweeping podium. The residential structures - around 62 and 42 floors - are a mix one- and two-bedroom units with commanding views of the downtown skyline and Lake Ontario.
In the extremely theatrical promotional video, Empire Communities imagines its concept literally rising out of the lake to take its place on the Etobcoke shoreline. The announcer describes it as "one of the most stunning architectural wonders to grace Toronto's waterfront" and "one of the tallest waterfront condos in Canada."
Unfortunately, the Design Review Panel didn't like the idea. The group voted unanimously to send the re-zoning application back for a total overhaul, saying the "super building" is "over-sized, over-scaled and overwhelming" in its present state. The discussion also identified density concerns and a lack of infrastructure and services in the developing neighbourhood.
The 1,400 planned parking spaces were deemed too much for the blueprint's single exit ramp and the group worried about the overall pedestrian experience at street level.
The Eau Du Soleil project is being built on land that was once part of the Lake Shore motel strip. The former site of the Beach Motel, one of the more famous (if dilapidated) buildings in the neighbourhood, is part of the land the giant development hopes to occupy.
Are tall condos like this best placed on the Lake Shore? Are developments like this the natural successor to the old motel strip? What do you think of the tower's design? Click here to read the full minutes of the DRP's discussion.
(Note: minor modifications were made to the text on 7/3/2013 in order to clarify the precise details of the Design Review Panel's concerns.)
VITAL STATS:
- Total residential area: 87,346 square metres
- Total retail area: 1633 sq. m.
- Total area: 88,979 sq. m.
- Frontage: 84 metres
- Depth: 175 m
- 1 bedroom units: 739
- 2 bedroom units: 439
- Total units: 1178
MORE IMAGES:
Aerial view looking south
Former motel strip from the west
Street level entrance
Towers at dusk from on the lake
Chris Bateman is a staff writer at blogTO. Follow him on Twitter at @chrisbateman.
Image: Zeidler Partnership Architects, E.I. Richmond Architects Ltd., City of Toronto.
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They have these advertised in condo magazines and stuff a lot, even though the design has to change? People better read the fine print before they buy one "Condo design subject to change without notice, no refunds".
The best way for developers to hanlde that issue is to clearly identify on walls and ceilings and floors where two units can be combined.
There is also zero retail within walking distance; you'll have to drive to the big-box hell on The Queensway.
Laughably, the complex going up on the NW corner of Park Lawn and Lake Shore claims, on the hoarding, to be "Etobicoke's first true urban village!". I thought Mimico and New Toronto were urban villages way back when, as were Long Branch, Thistletown, and I don't know how many others.
The one odd thing is that there isn't a subway line existing or proposed for kilometres in any direction.
Not to mention there's so few amenities in this area. This is horrible planning.
I agree with many posters here that the density is acceptable here, but it is yet another missed opportunity to create a vibrant, livable waterfront.
These new buildings need retail on the ground floor in order to create some sort of neighbourhood feel. I'm actually looking forward to the new construction at the NW corner of Parklawn & Lake Shore which will have a Metro grocery store and a pharmacy.
Sure, no problem!
In any event, density of this kind in an exurb seems to fail on both counts, plus it would great massive shadows behind them and block off access to the waterfront. Why does a tower need to be on the waterfront, if it's that tall? Why do very tall towers need to be on the waterfront? It's not as if your view from the 20th, 39th, 51st or 60th floors is going to be less, if you're a couple of blocks from the lake. Do you think that any developer is likely to build in the shadow of these two towers? No. Do you think that one or two large towers is enough to justify a meaningful increase in public transit options? Will residents of these towers actually be able to give up their use of cars on a regular basis?
I wonder if people are using the word because it sounds fancy and urbane, yet they don't really know what it means.
" Design Review Panel didn't like the idea. The group voted unanimously to send the re-zoning application back for a total overhaul, saying the "super building" is "over-sized, over-scaled and overwhelming" in its present state."
Palace Pier and Palace Place are both high 40+ floors. There are already buildings along Marine Parade Drive that exceed 40 storeys. How is an extra 20 stories here over sized in any fashion.
Lets have a little vision or we remain with Low Rise like Mimico forever!
Yes Planning has delayed Transit for decades! Who's fault is that? The residents who pay municipal property taxes?
And the people living in these nice new towers in Etobicoke will have front row seats on their balconies as the useless lefties throw themselves off their solar-TCHC fruitcake housing ghettos out of despair.
Downtown HAD their era...the 'burbs are BACK, BABY!!!!!!!!!!!