By Staff
October 11th, 2019
BURLINGTON, ON
There are all kinds of ways to communicate – tweeting being the one that some people can’t stay away from.
A reader who follows all this stuff sent us a tweet with an in depth comment on what can and perhaps cannot be done with the “football” between Lakeshore Road and Old Lakeshore Road.
It is described by another reader as “One of the best comments we have read regarding development and the Downtown Urban Growth Centre. Thank you James, whoever you are. “ There are some suggestions that the James is someone Burlington has experienced.
You can read the viewpoint here.
A thought some might want to ponder: Just how long does one think city hall itself will sit on that land?
These are the two developments to be built across the street from city hall. The on on the front left is now under construction; the other has been approved for 17 storeys – they want what the other has been approved at 23 storeys.
City hall will be dwarfed by the developments on the other side of the street. A former Deputy City Manager described it as “iconic”.
This might well be the view that people have as they enter the downtown core via Lakeshore Road. The building is stunning.
Let’s not limit the view to just what can be seen from the upper floors of city hall. The “football” is going to offer some stunning views that might get added to what will be visible right across from city hall.
The downtown that some think is Burlington’s future.
The proposed building at the end of the “football” is not “stunning” – it looks like it’s been attacked by a hurricane. And when it is surrounded eventually by a tight group of similar height buildings it will simply be another ugly reminder of previous councils’ failure to plan (or plan to fail?).
The comments from “James” look like they could have been crafted by a developer to create a sense of inevitability; i.e., that fighting it is futile. It may well be easier to give up than to work to mitigate the vertical developments but that isn’t what this council was elected to do.
Toronto’s City Hall is similarly positioned among taller buildings and seems to have survived just fine.
It may be time to think about creating a new space in Burlington that has character and is not inundated with tall buildings? The ship has sailed on keeping the DT as it was (whether you liked the old downtown or not) and is heading down the St Lawrence River. Time will tell whether the tall building proponents got it right. My bet is “no”.
I seem to use the word “naive” quite a bit when commenting upon the writings here of others. I do that because comments are made that do not take into account the practicalities of the world we live in.
It is naive to think privately owned development companies are going to include “affordable housing units in their condo towers, let alone build buildings which are 100% affordable housing. Privately owned developers are there to maximize the rate of return for their shareholders’ investments, not to provide social housing. Only high priced condos with some retail/office space do that!
The question of affordable housing should not be a part of the discussion as to the merits of a particukar development application.
An province wide affordable housing program should be instituted and primarily funded by the Provincial government, with support funding from both municipality and federal government. The municipality would be charged with implementing the program, undertaking the land acquisition and the actual coconstruction.
Affordable (rental) housing is a social need and so the responsibility of Provincial government to provide it.
An excellent note. The writer has what is often lacking during these discussions, namely, clarity of thought. It shines a bright light on the murk.
I don’t personally look forward to the problems that will come with intensification, and I don’t expect the policy makers to give much weight to my concerns. I imagine that the gentrification of the downtown core was viewed with great concern for many residents 20 years ago, where are the affordable homes in our core area now.