The City (for 1.5 days) had a simple message … the site is too small.  ​This fact is responsible for the developer’s inability to provide parking and G-type loading facilities for City garbage service; for the “tower” and “canyon” sensation resulting from the proposed height and setbacks.  The City however was satisfied with the off-site 40 parking spots.  City witness statements and the closing arguments accused the Appellant of “cherry picking” examples of variances from a variety of other developments and rolling them all into this one particular proposal.  The Appellant, in response to the City’s setback arguments, offered this "concession": to remove south facing balconies on the top floors of the building.  

The GDNA (for less than half a day total) argued that the site, being mid-block and fronted by a bike lane, afforded no place for passenger and delivery vehicles to stop.  On the opening day of the hearing, the GDNA learned that the Appellant was prepared to convert one of the three resident parking spots into a “short term delivery parking” space at the rear of the building off Rush Lane (aka Graffiti Alley) … another “concession”.  The GDNA countered that, although that might satisfy service/trade vehicles, passenger and delivery vehicles (driven by GPS coordinates of a known address) would have no knowledge that this rear entrance or parking space even existed.  

• Built Form

​The proposed height of 18 storeys and 61.1 metres is too tall for the subject site.  Instead the height should be no taller than 11 storeys based on the current floor to ceiling heights.
Required setbacks for taller elements of the building are minimal to non-existent.
The west side of the development extends to the property line and blocks the east-facing windows at 460 Richmond Street West.

• Unit Breakdown

This proposal contains 98 percent studio and one-bedroom units, whereas the expectation is that 10 percent of all development in King-Spadina be in the form of three-bedroom units to encourage families to live in the community.

• Amenity Space

Proposed interior and exterior amenity space is less than half the current requirement.

• Parking and Loading

Use of Rush Lane (Graffiti Alley) for off-site loading cannot be supported.
54 parking spaces are required and only 4 are proposed.

An official application was made on September 16th for the development of an 18 storey condominium on the site of 452 Richmond Street West.
Hemmed in by a low-rise building on the west, a parking lot on the east, and Graffiti Alley on the north, the proposed building shoots skyward as depicted in this gallery page of marketing material.
On September 9, 2015 a pre-application meeting was held with community residents. Criticism was voiced concerning a number of aspects related to the proposed design:

• the proposed height of the building
• the "dead" appearance of solid brick walls on the eastern and western exposures
• the small perimeter base making underground parking impossible and servicing at grade impractical, thereby forcing the building to "externalize" solutions to its deficiencies
• the lack of options for picking up and dropping off passengers (Wheel-Trans, taxis, etc) given that a busy bicycle lane and heavy traffic exist on Richmond Street ... exacerbated by a bend in the road just west of Spadina
• vehicular accessibility to the site during and after construction ... pinching traffic on Richmond and disrupting the bike path ... access to the back of the building in Graffiti Alley (for construction vehicles, for the available 3 parking spots, for moving vans, for garbage trucks) is tight and possible only from Spadina given that McDougall Lane is extremely narrow ... heavy reliance on this single point of vehicular access will disrupt the enjoyment of Graffiti Alley as a service and/or pedestrian route
• a potential for intensifying the existing wind tunnel along Richmond

The GDNA will be keeping an eye on future activity related to this application.