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[Burlington] 421 Brant | ?m | 23 fl | U/C

http://i.imgur.com/tivrZY4.jpg
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Location: 421 Brant Street, Burlington

Quote:

thespec.com: Proposed 26-storey tower dwarfing Burlington City Hall raises concerns

By Natalie Paddon | February 3, 2017

A local developer is proposing to build a 26-storey tower across from City Hall where a block of buildings currently stands.

The move has sparked concern from some Burlington city officials who worry about the height and parking, as well as what approving this project could signal to other developers interested in the downtown.

Carriage Gate Homes recently submitted an application for what's being dubbed 421 Brant — a complex at the corner of Brant and James streets that would include residential, retail and office space.

"Overall, the scale is overwhelming for the downtown," said area Coun. Marianne Meed Ward, who has also spoken out against a proposed condo tower of a similar size across from the lakefront downtown. That project is now before the Ontario Municipal Board.

She believes "mobility hubs" like the land near the Burlington GO Station are better suited for developments of this height.

"We don't want to have a forest of towers in the downtown … It would be a game changer."

Mayor Rick Goldring acknowledged the need for intensification, but noted the redevelopment would be the tallest building in the downtown.

Because of that, Goldring is also concerned about the possibility of "dwarfing" nearby City Hall, an eight-storey structure. "It is somewhat of an iconic building."

The city's official plan caps the maximum height of buildings in that area at 12 storeys.

Nick Carnicelli, president of Carriage Gate Homes, said the project worth nearly $100 million "relates to the street a lot better" than the 12-storey development he put forward in 2013.

While this proposal calls for a taller structure, it has a much more "slender" condominium building on top and set back from the street to allow for more streetscape, an area proposed for public art and walkable spaces that could also be used for patios, he said.

The building is expected to include 10,000 square feet of retail space on the main floor, with 14,000 square feet of office space on the second floor. A planned 183 residential units will start on the third floor. There will be four levels of underground parking.

"It's a much more desirable building," Carnicelli said, noting it adheres to an interim set of design guidelines for tall buildings recently endorsed by council.

"It's simplistic to say you're only focused on the height."

But Richard Harris, a McMaster University geography professor, says a 26-storey building in that location would be "visually intrusive."

Intensification — the practice of increasing density in already built-up areas to avoid urban sprawl — is good, but it doesn't all have to be done on one site, Harris said.

It might be more appropriate to have two towers half the size of the proposed one stacked beside each another.

"To me, it is just a little bit over the top, or a little bit more than over the top," Harris said.

Paul Russell's record store, Looney Tunes, at 425 Brant St. is one of the properties that will have to go for the new development.

Russell said he has known the project has been coming for some time but is still worried about the difficulty in relocating after being in the same spot since 1984.

"I would like to stay downtown," Russell said. "Whether I can or not, I don't know."

When it comes to the project as a whole, Russell has mixed feelings. Bringing more people to the area is good for business, but traffic and congestion will likely increase.

He believes a 26-storey structure will also change the "flavour" of the downtown. "We're sort of losing our small-city feel."

Mirella Marsilio — whose clothing store Mirella's Ladies Boutique is also located in the affected stretch on Brant — hopes the development breathes new life into the core.

"It is positive for the downtown."

A neighbourhood meeting on the project is expected to be scheduled for March 21 or 22.

My GAWD people... why... oh why... won't they think of the children!?!?! :rolleyes:

The buildings they're replacing aren't too spectacular, but I see this being a little too on the modern side for Burlington tastes, especially downtown.

Burlington is going to look like the Etobicoke waterfront pretty soon!

I get that council seems to want to maintain the "quaint" feel of the downtown strip on Brant, but it's really not a very impressive or busy place for a city of this size. I think Pandora's Box opened when the towers just a few blocks away on Lakeshore were approved, some of them a while ago but the market is just getting ripe for this kind of development in the last few years. With more additional residents coming soon, I think that will change the demand for the types of businesses downtown as well so its character is bound to evolve.

Maybe a larger setback on the Brant side and dropping a few storeys would help make people happy. But I think the concerns about this looming over city hall and generating too much traffic are way overblown (always love that traffic criticism that comes up time and time again... as if every prospective car owner in a proposed building will be leaving or arriving at the same time, all throughout the livelong day).

Given the parking lots in the area there will be other tall proposals in the next few years as well. They will also abut low-rise homes and businesses. So this kind of debate will become an ongoing one.

I like the looks of it. If Burlington does not want it, move it to Hamilton!

If City Hall, the building, doesn't want to be upstaged by this then why not move the tower to the north side of the podium. This would preserve the view of the smaller CH tower when approaching from the east on James Street.

Better yet set the podium back from the street too, or at least knock the corner off at 45 degrees, allowing for a patio at street level with the former, and more sidewalk capacity on the street corner with the latter.

I mean, a building of this scale is sure to add even more congestion on the *already busy* sidewalks! ;-)

They will have a tough sell on this one. I like it a lot but there is too much low rise around it. If built it will sell like crazy.

The design of the tower is really nice and it seems like they paid a lot of attention to detail with it's aesthetic, but it does front up against those low rise buildings pretty aggressively.

If this has to lose height I hope the modern styling is carried over. Agreed though, this would be great in downtown Hamilton :P

421 Brant was approved, with a height reduction to 23 floors.

This thread needs a name update from [Burlington] 421 Brant | ?m | 26 fl | Proposed to [Burlington] 421 Brant | ?m | 23 fl | Approved

I believe this has a 5 level garage so this hole should get quite deep.

Good to see they are onto the regular tower floors now. Should fly up now.