The Gothic Arches redevelopment goes to PAC tonight.
I'm fine with the height and can live with the massing. It's certainly a different scale of building than its immediate neighbours but to maximize density in the core while also preserving historic housing we need to make the most of the sites we have available.
Where this proposal falls flat, IMO, is at street level. The fine grain and frequent doorways of the surrounding neighbourhood are not reflected in the minimal street interaction of the current design. Additional residential entrances (i.e. lower level townhouse units, similar to Abbey St. Andrew) would go a long way to improving this development. These units could likely command premium rents, but would require giving up at least some of the ground level parking spaces. I don't think this is too much to ask given the walkable urban character of the area - do we really need a parking space for every single unit in this building? We lost a landmark when Gothic Arches came down, so we should demand nothing less than a worthy replacement.
It will be interesting to see what PAC recommends on this one.
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“The street is the river of life of the city, the place where we come together, the pathway to the center.” –William H. Whyte
“Forget the damned motor car and build the cities for lovers and friends.” –Lewis Mumford
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