02-22-2017, 04:23 PM
I just find it a bit ridiculous that this is meant to get people living in downtown areas, but unless people are willing to let their heritage homes be demolished some people here see no reason to have it run here in the first place.
Looking at a map of King and Eagle, you've got four potential redevelopment sites at the intersection itself. The southeastern site where Tim's is could potentially be extended part or all the way down Eagle to the just finished building and all the way down to Dover (though I'd rather see the church stick around). Similar with the northwestern site, which could potentially be extended to the Argyle Arms/vet clinic.
The southwest corner would be a challenge because there's already an apartment farther down; whatever goes up would have to have a small footprint unless it has to come down to make room for the tracks. Taking out the Dairy Queen would likely be seen as an act of vandalism, so leaving it alone would be wise; that thing is super popular in the summer. The northeast corner is the biggest challenge but also the biggest opportunity. Take out the parking lot and build something with underground parking that also replaces the structure for the apartment tower. It has to come down for them to fit the LRT tracks through anyway; might as well reconfigure and use that last bit of land at the corner. Sparing the former Clare Brothers office would be a plus.
At King and Chopin you have the City Cafe/Keleher's/Beer store properties; across the road is the remaining undeveloped portion of the old toy factory that burned down. They're supposed to be making something park-like with it, but that's been planned for well over a decade and nothing's happened yet. In the other direction, the gas station and Bell Canada dispatcher building at King and Dover. You could also theoretically incorporate the parking lot, salon, and even the library building on the other side of King if you wanted to make something good, but you'd have to have a new library site first; demolishing that without an improved replacement will make people very unhappy.
And then there's the former Dover Flour Mills. I love having them there, but I can't see them lasting forever; too much of a traffic nightmare when their trucks are leaving, arriving, and lining up to the loading docks. Might make a good conversion once all the sheet metal extensions are taken down.
So there you go; eight potential sites right at King and Eagle and potentially only six houses demolished (possibly more of them facing Eagle to get the tracks in though). And most of the neighbourhood left alone. Sound like a good start?
Looking at a map of King and Eagle, you've got four potential redevelopment sites at the intersection itself. The southeastern site where Tim's is could potentially be extended part or all the way down Eagle to the just finished building and all the way down to Dover (though I'd rather see the church stick around). Similar with the northwestern site, which could potentially be extended to the Argyle Arms/vet clinic.
The southwest corner would be a challenge because there's already an apartment farther down; whatever goes up would have to have a small footprint unless it has to come down to make room for the tracks. Taking out the Dairy Queen would likely be seen as an act of vandalism, so leaving it alone would be wise; that thing is super popular in the summer. The northeast corner is the biggest challenge but also the biggest opportunity. Take out the parking lot and build something with underground parking that also replaces the structure for the apartment tower. It has to come down for them to fit the LRT tracks through anyway; might as well reconfigure and use that last bit of land at the corner. Sparing the former Clare Brothers office would be a plus.
At King and Chopin you have the City Cafe/Keleher's/Beer store properties; across the road is the remaining undeveloped portion of the old toy factory that burned down. They're supposed to be making something park-like with it, but that's been planned for well over a decade and nothing's happened yet. In the other direction, the gas station and Bell Canada dispatcher building at King and Dover. You could also theoretically incorporate the parking lot, salon, and even the library building on the other side of King if you wanted to make something good, but you'd have to have a new library site first; demolishing that without an improved replacement will make people very unhappy.
And then there's the former Dover Flour Mills. I love having them there, but I can't see them lasting forever; too much of a traffic nightmare when their trucks are leaving, arriving, and lining up to the loading docks. Might make a good conversion once all the sheet metal extensions are taken down.
So there you go; eight potential sites right at King and Eagle and potentially only six houses demolished (possibly more of them facing Eagle to get the tracks in though). And most of the neighbourhood left alone. Sound like a good start?