Hostile community response to Yonge Street condo plan

A hostile crowd of about 140 Deer Park residents confronted representatives for a 42-storey development proposal at 1421 Yonge St., south of St. Clair Avenue, on June 24.

One after another, attendees at the community consultation meeting asked architect Rudy Wallman and planner Robert Glover why they were representing developer Terracap instead of owner Larry Krauss, how a single laneway connected to a TTC thoroughfare would handle of the proposed building’s traffic, and why a 42-storey, 420-unit mixed-use tower was being proposed for their neighbourhood in the first place.

“With all due respect, I think Larry Krauss should be here tonight,” Erik Heinrich said to applause. “Not his lawyer — he should be here. Because it’s his property. And it’s completely … out of step with everything this neighbourhood represents.”

“I live in the industrial alleyway that I think you’re proposing to use for garbage removal,” Andrea Matte said. “And I have to tell you it doesn’t work well to begin with…. With 420 units, it can only be worse.”

Wallman received polite applause after explaining his design choices, including 10-metre setbacks on the ground floor that would double the width of the sidewalk, three-metre stepbacks on the eighth, 15th and 22nd floors that would minimize shadows, and limestore frames for the ground-floor retail.

But it fell to Glover, a Deer Park resident himself, to explain the reason for the building’s height. He called 1421 Yonge St. “the right location” and “an appropriate starting point” for other highrise developments near Yonge Street and St. Clair Ave., noting the site’s two highest neighbours were 31 storeys each.

“(The proposal is) taller than what’s in the neighbourhood now, but it’s not at the peak of some of the taller buildings that we have at Yonge and Eglinton—” Glover began, before he was drowned out by angry grumbling.

Later Glover tried clarifying his position, saying the proposal represented what Terracap considered an “optimal” use of the site.

“You mentioned the word ‘optimal,’” resident Nancy Sprott said after he was finished. “I think it’s optimal for you. I fail to see that it’s optimal for any of us in this room.”

“I have one quick question: is there any benefit?” Sprott continued, to loud applause. “Can you name me one benefit that this nightmare will bring to our area?”

Near the end one contrary voice rose from the crowd.

“I know a lot of you people in here will not like me for saying this, but I’m actually looking forward to the building,” Aaron Katz said, eliciting a chorus of groans. “I think you are all of an older generation … and I have friends who are gonna have to live in Newmarket because of people like you that are standing in the way of progress.”

Upon hearing this, several members of the audience encouraged Katz to move.

Asked for his comments after the meeting, architect Wallman said he thought it was very useful. “We expected strong commentary, and that’s what we got.”

Glover called it a “great, exhilirating, democratic experience.”

Ward 22 Councillor Josh Matlow said he would have supported a midrise proposal for the site, but neither Wallman nor Glover gave satisfactory answers to the audience’s questions.

“It was clear from tonight’s meeting that, aside from one guy who insulted everyone over 65 … every other person in the room was strongly against this development proposal,” Matlow said. “The developer didn’t offer one reasonable or solid argument as to how this development either contributes to the community or has regard for the city’s official plan.”

Matlow said that Terracap would have to substantially update the proposal if it hoped to collaborate with the city on its development.

“What’s proposed now is not only something I could not support but something I will fight very strongly against,” he said.

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