12-10-2015, 09:22 PM
Is it too soon to start with wish lists? I want to see the smokestack preserved. If it's fit, I'd like to see the "smokestack building" retained for pubic purposes (retail? food market? small Schneiders museum?). If that were possible, I'd probably want to retain as a "feature" the long elevated conveyor/passageway that extends from that building toward the north-east end of the site. Shoemakers Creek should be uncovered and form the core of the site's largest green space, extending from Courtland to the train tracks and hopefully linked under the tracks to an improved creek/trail extending westward to Borden Parkway (linking also to the Iron Horse Trail). The first buildings to be demolished should be the modern warehouses fronting on the north side of Borden - the area between the LRT and the restored creek would be where I would put a fairly dense mix of smaller stacked townhouses and walk up apartments, which I hope would be moderately priced or include a social housing component and which would have pedestrian access to the rest of the site, but car access only to/from Borden (add in a good pedestrian way to the Mill LRT station). I think the green area and housing out to Borden would occupy almost a third of the main site. It would be OK by me if the existing office tower were re-used as office space. Not sure what I would do with the factory complex itself - any buildings that pre-date WWII I would hope will be looked at carefully from a heritage/retention perspective. I wonder if all or part of the north end of the plant (Courtland at Palmer) could be converted to mixed use lofts?
It would be awfully nice if redevelopment of the Schneiders site spurred developers to acquire and redevelop the land along Courtland (both sides) down to Stirling - that stretch certainly could use some freshening up and densification.
All of this to be completed within ten years, of course.
How does it sound?
It would be awfully nice if redevelopment of the Schneiders site spurred developers to acquire and redevelop the land along Courtland (both sides) down to Stirling - that stretch certainly could use some freshening up and densification.
All of this to be completed within ten years, of course.
How does it sound?