Quote:
Originally Posted by sailor734
You do raise a valid point about density. For years we've been bombarded with "urban sprawl=bad planning" and "15 minute cities" yet what do we do? Build a bunch of low rises with surface parking well away from the urban core in the suburbs (Millidgeville, Loch Lomond Rd, Westside etc.).
Maybe that's a case of developers building what people want?  |
I’d argue the Carleton Peninsula is part of the core of the city too… while much of the West Side could be considered core adjacent. It’s a a bit ridiculous they’re calling that new apartment building off Fairville Boulevard “Aquarius Towers”
not just because it’s only 6 storeys, but because it’s a single building. I don’t think it’s tall enough to see any water at that location. If it was 20 storeys or something, you’d probably get quite a few units actually with a view of the Bay of Fundy. But where they should really put up some legitimate apartment towers is at Fairville Plaza, and Lancaster Mall. There’s all kinds of parking already, and all kinds of shopping and amenities within walking distance. I believe at both locations 15-20 storeys would be enough for a view of the Bay of Fundy.
There’s also room for some mid rise and high rise residential towers to go up in the lower West Side, such as the Belyea Arena Site, Fort Dufferin, King Street West, and quite a few other locations if some old shacks and decrepit buildings could be torn down, or some vacant and under-utilized land be cleared for development use. Really though, we should be trying to incentivize building more residential towers all around the city to increase density, and unlock water views of both the ocean and the rivers.
Obviously where makes the most sense, though, is the central peninsula. There’s all kinds of room for mid rises and high rises in the south end, and they’d be quite a positive, gentrifying improvement to some pretty run down and under-utilized areas. It would also just really fill in the skyline. I imagine there would be some NIMBYS against tall buildings going up in the south end blocking what’s currently a view of the water for some places Uptown, but the south end is largely outside the heritage conservation area, and it would be ridiculous to veto significant developments from going up in the south end over something like that. Traffic concerns are mostly bull… especially considering most Uptown traffic originates from the suburbs. Increasing density > Traffic concerns.
Percy’s hole is the perfect spot to build a 30 storey apartment building with underground parking, imo. Even though it sounds like what might end up being built there could be less than the originally planned 12 storey. Still, I’d like to think with the right partners, we could see something taller than the originally planned 12 storey go up there, instead of the something less. Hopefully we’ll have some good news regarding that site sooner than later.
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