General Urban Kitchener Updates and Rumours

[panamaniac]

To bad it's not across the street - the Pearl Laundry and its neighbour are nice looking old facades.

[westwardloo]

if I am reading it right it is IBI group proposing this, so might be slightly better quality then SRM.

[CP42]

if I am reading it right it is IBI group proposing this, so might be slightly better quality then SRM.

Doesn’t IBI typically do the planning documents?

[ac3r]

They do a bit of everything. Site planning, architecture, landscape architecture, engineering, urban design etc. They're a very big firm.

[sevenman]

This building is an IN8 / SRM project as is the one around the corner on Charles St. across from the old bus terminal.

[westwardloo]

Well that is not the best news. SRM/ IN8 are a dangerous duo to have control of prominent lands in kitchener. TEK tower will determine if they are investing a little bit of the budget in design. DTK does not give me much hope. I guess waterloo got the student getto kitchener will get 4 or 5 spread out tall eye sores. Not sure which one I would prefer.

[CP42]

Well that is not the best news. SRM/ IN8 are a dangerous duo to have control of prominent lands in kitchener. TEK tower will determine if they are investing a little bit of the budget in design. DTK does not give me much hope. I guess waterloo got the student getto kitchener will get 4 or 5 spread out tall eye sores. Not sure which one I would prefer.

Is there any way the general public could pressure/motivate IN8 to actually make their buildings look half decent?

[panamaniac]

Well that is not the best news. SRM/ IN8 are a dangerous duo to have control of prominent lands in kitchener. TEK tower will determine if they are investing a little bit of the budget in design. DTK does not give me much hope. I guess waterloo got the student getto kitchener will get 4 or 5 spread out tall eye sores. Not sure which one I would prefer.

Is there any way the general public could pressure/motivate IN8 to actually make their buildings look half decent?

Without being labelled NIMBYs?  Probably not.

[CP42]

Is there any way the general public could pressure/motivate IN8 to actually make their buildings look half decent?

Without being labled NIMBYs?  Probably not.

I’m all for building, just don’t make it look like shit!

[cherrypark]

Is there any way the general public could pressure/motivate IN8 to actually make their buildings look half decent?

Without being labelled NIMBYs?  Probably not.

And thus, the NIMBYs get to be part way to correct claiming a lack of public interest by the developer and it being a cash grab, perpetuating the cycle for any development good or bad coming later.

[ac3r]

Well that is not the best news. SRM/ IN8 are a dangerous duo to have control of prominent lands in kitchener. TEK tower will determine if they are investing a little bit of the budget in design. DTK does not give me much hope. I guess waterloo got the student getto kitchener will get 4 or 5 spread out tall eye sores. Not sure which one I would prefer.

Is there any way the general public could pressure/motivate IN8 to actually make their buildings look half decent?

I sent an angry e-mail to SRM once telling them to stop designing shit...but I don't think that'll work lol. TBH I don't think there is much to do besides going to community meetings and objecting against the design choices and voicing concerns, for example with their bait and switch design of Duke Tower where the final building looked nothing like the original proposal. It'd be possible to do that in a way that does not make you a NIMBY, but nevertheless lets the developer know that you do not like their design choices and would object to approval unless it's improved. I could totally get behind that because SRM is absolute garbage.

Sadly, I don't think IN8 cares because they are choosing to work with SRM due to the fact they're a cheap firm to hire for designs. But as a result, they design garbage. Just compare their work to, for example, Hariri Pontarini Architects who design beautiful condo projects in Toronto, Calgary, Vancouver etc.

But what we really need in the region/cities is a design review panel like other cities have. Toronto has one that covers a lot of aspects of design:

[The Design Review Panel] is comprised of private sector design professionals – architects, landscape architects, urban designers and engineers – who provide independent, objective advice to city staff aimed at improving matters of design that affect the public realm. This includes matters such as preserving the uniqueness of place, maintaining vitality, ensuring comfort and safety, and making new development compatible with its surroundings.[/font][/size][/color]

I'd love to have something like that here in Waterloo Region one day...I'd happily join it myself! Not every building in Toronto is an award winner but you'd almost never see a disaster like Duke Tower built at the corner of Bay and Adelaide for a reason: their design panel would raise concerns and object to it.

[dtkmelissa]

Is there any way the general public could pressure/motivate IN8 to actually make their buildings look half decent?

I sent an angry e-mail to SRM once telling them to stop designing shit...but I don't think that'll work lol. TBH I don't think there is much to do besides going to community meetings and objecting against the design choices and voicing concerns, for example with their bait and switch design of Duke Tower where the final building looked nothing like the original proposal. It'd be possible to do that in a way that does not make you a NIMBY, but nevertheless lets the developer know that you do not like their design choices and would object to approval unless it's improved. I could totally get behind that because SRM is absolute garbage.

Sadly, I don't think IN8 cares because they are choosing to work with SRM due to the fact they're a cheap firm to hire for designs. But as a result, they design garbage. Just compare their work to, for example, Hariri Pontarini Architects who design beautiful condo projects in Toronto, Calgary, Vancouver etc.

But what we really need in the region/cities is a design review panel like other cities have. Toronto has one that covers a lot of aspects of design:

[The Design Review Panel] is comprised of private sector design professionals – architects, landscape architects, urban designers and engineers – who provide independent, objective advice to city staff aimed at improving matters of design that affect the public realm. This includes matters such as preserving the uniqueness of place, maintaining vitality, ensuring comfort and safety, and making new development compatible with its surroundings.[/font][/size][/color]

I'd love to have something like that here in Waterloo Region one day...I'd happily join it myself! Not every building in Toronto is an award winner but you'd almost never see a disaster like Duke Tower built at the corner of Bay and Adelaide for a reason: their design panel would raise concerns and object to it.

How do those design panels get implemented? For example, how would we get one started in Waterloo Region?

[Lebronj23]

I tried to get 88 Queen documents from city staff, or have them put on the development map so we could see some renders. They said it will not be updated on the map as it doesn’t require a zoning bylaw amendment. Only submissions that need a ZBA are permitted to the public. That sucks.

“ 30 Francis was warehouse district which required a zoning by-law amendment to allow for residential uses and bonusing provisions and 88 queen is retail core zone (d-1) which permits residential uses and has built in bonusing. (Ability to enter into bonusing agreements expires sep 2022, as a result of provincial legislation changes)

We have about 4-5 sites in the works that will be using the existing zoning to develop high rises similar to 88 queen all of which will be public knowledge by sep 2022”

[CP42]

I tried to get 88 Queen documents from city staff, or have them put on the development map so we could see some renders. They said it will not be updated on the map as it doesn’t require a zoning bylaw amendment. Only submissions that need a ZBA are permitted to the public. That sucks.

“ 30 Francis was warehouse district which required a zoning by-law amendment to allow for residential uses and bonusing provisions and 88 queen is retail core zone (d-1) which permits residential uses and has built in bonusing. (Ability to enter into bonusing agreements expires sep 2022, as a result of provincial legislation changes)

We have about 4-5 sites in the works that will be using the existing zoning to develop high rises similar to 88 queen all of which will be public knowledge by sep 2022”

2 more from IN8, 1 from VanMar on Duke, any others we know of? I assume they aren’t including Q Condos in that.

[Zoo]

I didn't see it posted but I heard that the City is looking at hiking the costs for developers with park dedication to over $40k a unit. This may be speculation or inaccurate but what your thoughts if true?  Adding more costs isn't going to help with affordability but I was thinking that the City should have areas where that is waive to encourage dense developments close by rather then all over the map.