PLANNING & URBAN DESIGN RATIONALE

5 PLANNING AND URBAN DESIGN ANALYSIS
5.1 Intensification
The proposed redevelopment represents an appropriate and desirable form of
mixed-use intensification that is appropriate to the site location, fronting on an
Avenue, well-served by existing and proposed transit services, and within 2.5
kilometres of the Downtown Core. Intensification on the subject site is supportive
of policy directions set out in the Provincial Policy Statement, the Growth Plan for
the Greater Golden Horseshoe and the Toronto Official Plan, all of which promote
intensification on sites well served by municipal infrastructure, including transit.
In this regard, the Growth Plan includes policies that specifically support a mix of
uses and increased residential and employment densities to support the viability of
existing and planned transit service levels along “intensification corridors”. As well,
strong policy support is expressed in the Official Plan for mixed-use intensification
along the Avenues, in a form that is intended to make efficient use of land and
infrastructure and concentrate population and jobs in areas well served by transit.
Within this context, it is important to make efficient use of sites that are well suited
for intensification in order to reduce the rate of outward urban expansion, minimize
use of the private automobile and support the use of transit. The subject site is
currently underutilized given its location along an Avenue and along a streetcar
route that is identified as a “Transit Priority Segment” by the Official Plan. Policy
2.4(4) specifically requires consideration of minimum density requirements, as well
as maximum density limits, for sites such as this that are well serviced by transit.
In this regard, the subject site currently enjoys a high level of transit accessibility,
by way of by four separate streetcar lines that run along Queen Street East and
provide all-day service throughout the week. The southerly extension of the
Broadview LRT and the introduction of a Downtown East GO station proposed
as part of the First Gulf 21 Don Roadway development, together with proximity
to a potential subway station on the Downtown Relief Line, collectively have the
potential to further enhance the transit accessibility of the site in the future.
The optimization of density on the subject site is consistent with both good planning
practice and overarching Provincial and City policy direction, subject to achieving
appropriate built form relationships. In our opinion, the existing low-intensity
automotive and storage uses, served by extensive surface parking areas, do not
support the planned function for the subject site as articulated in the Provincial
and City policy documents. The redevelopment of the site for mid-rise mixed-use
buildings along the Queen Street frontage, together with taller mixed-use buildings
on the southerly portion of the site, is part of a desirable process of reurbanization
that will result in a more intensive form of transit-supportive development and
contribute to a more animated and pedestrian-oriented urban streetscape along
Queen Street.
The introduction of residential land uses on the site, in conjunction with intensified
employment uses, will generate jobs and residential population, both of which
PLANNING & URBAN DESIGN RATIONALE | 79 East Don Roadway & 677 Queen Street East 49