Toronto’s all about preserving heritage sometimes to the point of preventing development for entire neighbourhoods. but they don’t allow new projects to actually resemble the character of the neighbourhood. I mean, just look at the contrast between the red Victorian brick of those houses and the white-and-gray condo next to them. I’m all for building condos, but if they don’t match the neighborhood, don’t build them at all—especially if they’re tall like that. I’d much rather see more medium-sized, mixed-use developments that share the same architecture as the Victorian houses instead of these tall eyesores. Sorry for the rant, lol.
Where did you get this idea from?
That's not correct.
The City did not preclude Westbank from building something with red brick, or Victoria-esque. Its a private development, they are allowed to propose what they wish, within the zoning permissions.
Broadly, the City is precluded by Provincial law from dictating the appearance of a private development proposal.
There are partial exceptions under Heritage Conservation District Rules, and to a lesser degree 'Special Character Areas'.
But even then, the City is generally limited in prescribing.
Certainly no one told Westbank what not to build here......or that they could not emulate the adjacent character.
But to be clear, this was never going to be low-rise. They bought an entire block filled with a profit-making retail and paid accordingly; additional density was essential here to make anything happen.
Could it have been done differently or better? Sure.
Could it have used 'some' red brick or the like, yeah, I suppose. It also could have distributed the massing (including height) a bit differently, and maybe accepted a tiny bit less.
Regardless, the City does not prohibit certain architectural expressions.
