A condo approved over objections? How rare...
The Ontario Municipal Board approved a controversial plan Wednesday to build a pair of condo towers that will be visible above the Ontario Legislative Assembly when seen from University Avenue south of College Street.
Board member S. J. Stefanko ruled that high-rises proposed for the Four Seasons Hotel property at 21 Avenue Road are “consistent” with provincial and city planning policies, and rejected arguments that the project will undermine the “postcard” views of the legislature.
The application, from Menkes Developments, had been opposed by the Office of the Speaker of the House, representing the Ontario Legislative Assembly.
Characterizing the decision as “unbelievably disappointing,” heritage expert Catherine Nasmith, former president of the Architectural Conservancy of Ontario, predicts the project will set a precedent for other properties on Avenue Road just north of Bloor. “We’re gradually going to have no sky behind Queen’s Park,” she said.
During the lengthy approvals process, it became apparent to Toronto’s heritage community that an earlier generation of planning policies designed to protect historic “view corridors” had been purged from the city’s new official plan.
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