(01-12-2016, 12:04 PM)MidTowner Wrote:(01-12-2016, 11:57 AM)Viewfromthe42 Wrote: Depending on how far you want to go between as-built re-use and complete demolition (knowing the latter to not really be an option or likely for this site)...
Why do you think demolition is unlikely? As much as I admire the building, it seems that its history could easily make the cost of adaptive reuse prohibitively high. Why do you think it's not really an option to tear it down and replace it with something entirely new?
I have a hard time seeing that make sense - Brick & Beam is all the rage, and condos in converted factories will fetch quite a premium as well. A simple count of floors and windows makes a rough guess of ~14 units per floor x4 floors (without going up higher) = 56 units. So close to the transit hub and in an 'up and coming' neighborhood, these would easily sell for $250k+ ... that's $14m. Assume building costs on the units is $120/sf and a generous 1000 sf per unit = $6.7m - that leaves a pretty healthy margin for everything else involved, and that's not even accounting for going higher or building out onto the rest of the lot (current building doesn't even cover 50% of the lot if I recall correctly from the last time I checked it out)
My bet is that the developer who buys it gets commitment (in writing) ahead of time for govt to foot the bill for remediation - and I would hope it is provincial or federal - this is exactly the kind of thing Environment Canada should be helping out with: A long dissolved corporation made a mess - there's no one to sue, no one to foot the bill - it's in the public good to clean it up. The developer gets it for the $1m, contributes a few million towards the cleanup, comes up with a proposal that utilizes the current building, incorporates the full lot, and goes higher - it could be a very attractive financial proposition - and great improvement to the neighborhood. Not very different from the Mansion street lofts (which a live a few houses away from - no complaints there), but much better location relative to the transit hub.
If you don't buy-in to that happening, then I'm not sure what the alternative is... I can't imagine the city getting away with anything other than townhouse condos - it's smack dab in the middle of a residential neighborhood and a tall building would see a lot of opposition (and likely constitute bad planning). Converting the existing to Condos will almost definitely be the path to achieving the highest possible density with these lands.