Planning and Growth Management Committee. Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning

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1 STAFF REPORT ACTION REQUIRED 99 Atlantic Avenue and Hanna Avenue and 2-24A Liberty Street and 1 Snooker Street - Official Plan Amendment and Zoning Amendment Applications - Preliminary Report Date: April 30, 2014 To: From: Wards: Planning and Growth Management Committee Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning Ward 19 Trinity-Spadina Reference Number: P:\2014\Cluster B\PLN\PGMC\PG14047 ( STE 19 OZ) SUMMARY This application proposes to amend the Official Plan and the former City of Toronto Zoning By-law to permit the development of an 8-storey office building with retail and service commercial uses at grade and a 2-storey building with retail and service commercial uses. The existing office building and boiler house are proposed to be renovated for office uses with retail and service commercial uses at the lower levels. Included in the proposal are 212 below grade parking spaces. This report provides preliminary information on the above-noted application and seeks Community Council's directions on further processing of the applications and on the community consultation process. A Community Meeting was held on April 24, A Final Report and Statutory Public Meeting are targeted for the third quarter of 2014 or first quarter of The target date assumes that applicant will provide all required information in a timely manner.

2 RECOMMENDATIONS The City Planning Division recommends that: 1. Staff be directed to review the application for 99 Atlantic and 40 Hanna Avenue and 2-24A Liberty Street and 1 Snooker Street within the context of Official Plan Amendment Notice for the public meeting under the Planning Act be given according to the regulations under the Planning Act for the lands at 99 Atlantic and Hanna Avenue and 2-24A Liberty Street and 1 Snooker Street. 3. The Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning be directed to submit the Final Report on 99 Atlantic and 40 Hanna Avenue and 2-24A Liberty Street and 1 Snooker Street to Planning and Growth Management Committee after the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing issues a decision on Official Plan Amendment 231. Financial Impact The recommendations in this report have no financial impact. DECISION HISTORY Official Plan Amendment (OPA) 231 At its meeting on December 16, 17 and 18, 2013, City Council adopted Official Plan Amendment (OPA) 231 which designated the subject lands as Core Employment Areas. In addition to the new Core Employment designation, the Area 3 Policy of the Garrison Common North Secondary Plan has been amended by OPA 231. The revised area specific policy for Liberty Village is applicable for the subject lands. In January 2014, the City submitted OPA 231 to the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing for approval. The Minister has 180 days to issue a decision on the Official Plan Amendment. The decision of City Council and OPA 231 can be found at the following links: Pre-Application Consultation A pre-application consultation meeting was held with the applicant on February 5, 2014, to discuss complete application submission requirements. The application was filed on March 14, Staff report for action Preliminary Report - 99 Atlantic Ave 2

3 ISSUE BACKGROUND Proposal The application proposes renovations and adaptive reuse of the two existing buildings on the property for office use with retail and service commercial uses at the lower levels. In addition, two new buildings are proposed on site with office, retail and service commercial uses. The applicant proposes to renovate the existing 5-storey office building at 99 Atlantic Avenue. The basement and ground floor are proposed to have retail, service and commercial uses with access from Snooker Street and Hanna Avenue. The remaining floors will be comprised of office use. The existing entrance to the building will be relocated from Atlantic Avenue to Hanna Avenue. In order to facilitate the relocation, the existing berm along Hanna Avenue will be removed, and a sidewalk will be introduced (see Attachment 1). The applicant proposes to renovate the existing one-storey boiler house to allow for retail service and commercial uses. The attached one-storey storage building is proposed to be demolished. Two new buildings are proposed within the existing surface parking lot areas. The new 8-storey building fronting on Atlantic Avenue is proposed to have retail, service and commercial uses on the ground floor and office use on the 2 nd to 9 th floor. Parking and loading will be accessed from Atlantic Avenue on the north end of the building. There will be four levels of underground parking with 212 vehicle parking spaces and 165 bicycle spaces. The proposed building will have a height of approximately 34 metres, with a 6 metre mechanical penthouse above. The existing 5-storey office building will be connected to the base of the new 8-storey office building. Above the base, there will be a 30 metre gap between the buildings. There will be a pedestrian connection and access to an internal outdoor courtyard from both Liberty Street and Hanna Avenue. The applicant proposes a new two-storey building at the southeast corner of Hanna Avenue and Liberty Street with retail, service and commercial uses. This development proposes a total gross floor area of 17,511 square metres of office use and 7,658 square metres of retail, service and commercial use. The total proposed floor space index over the four buildings represents an overall density of 4.10 times the area of the lot. Staff report for action Preliminary Report - 99 Atlantic Ave 3

4 The following chart outlines the proposed uses with associated gross floor area and density of the lot: Use Building Office Retail/Service Total Commercial Proposed 8 Storey Office Building 11, 256m² 2,225m² 13, 481m² Existing 5 Storey Building 6,255m² 4,789m² 11,044m² (99 Atlantic) Boiler House 0 260m² 260m² Proposed 2 Storey Retail Building 0 384m² 384m² Total 17,511m² 7,658m² 25,169m² F.S.I (Floor Space Index) Site and Surrounding Area The subject site is located along four municipal street frontages: the south side of Snooker Avenue, the west side of Hanna Avenue, the north side of Liberty Street, and the east side of Atlantic Avenue. The site is located within the "Liberty Village" area which was historically an industrial/manufacturing district. It is now considered a centre for the City's creative economy. The site is 6,145 square metres in size, and is occupied by three existing buildings and three parking lots. The northeast portion of Hanna Avenue is occupied by a 5-storey office building, gaining main access off of Atlantic Avenue, with the convenience address of 99 Atlantic Avenue. The building is listed on the City of Toronto's Inventory of Heritage Properties (Brunswick-Blake-Collender Factory, built in 1913 by Architect Henry Simpson). The building wall along Hanna Avenue lacks a sidewalk and is inaccessible due an elevated landscaped berm. The proposal includes the removal of the berm in order to reorient the main entrance to the building off of Hanna Avenue and to include a pedestrian sidewalk. The building currently has a range of tenants including: communications, broadcasting, computer software and technology, event services and a photography studio. The building was formerly occupied by the Academy of Spherical Arts with approximately 2,000 square metres of restaurant/bar and billiard use, which closed in Fronting on Liberty Street is a one-storey vacant boiler house building with a tall brick chimney with an attached one storey storage building. The storage building is currently occupied by a flower shop and event planning business. This building is proposed to be demolished. The landmark chimney stack and boiler house are to be maintained. There is an existing parking lot on the southwest corner of Atlantic Avenue and Liberty Street with two smaller parking lots on site, both gaining access from Liberty Street. The parking lots provide commercial parking to the existing buildings and also to the general public. Staff report for action Preliminary Report - 99 Atlantic Ave 4

5 North: Directly north of the proposed new building at the southwest corner of Snooker and Atlantic is a 3-storey office building at 107 Atlantic Avenue. On the north side of Snooker Street is 109 Atlantic Avenue, which is comprised of a 3-storey office building with the retailer West Elm at grade. South: Immediately south of the site is a Toronto Parking Authority surface parking lot, and employment uses south to the rail tracks. East: Immediately east of the site is a 7-storey, 215 unit live/work building known as the "The Toy Factory Lofts" and a commercial plaza. Beyond that, the area is known as "King-Liberty" comprised of a residential neighbourhood made up of townhouses and condominium towers. West: On the northwest corner of Atlantic Avenue and Liberty Street is 60 Atlantic Avenue, a 3-storey office building currently undergoing renovations with a restaurant on the ground floor. Further west is the Allan A. Lamport Stadium and the Liberty Village employment area continues until Dufferin Street. Provincial Policy Statement and Provincial Plans The Provincial Policy Statement (PPS), 2014 provides policy direction on matters of provincial interest related to land use planning and development. These policies support the goal of enhancing the quality of life for all Ontarians. Key policy objectives include: building strong healthy communities; wise use and management of resources and protecting public health and safety. The PPS recognizes that local context and character is important. Policies are outcome-oriented, and some policies provide flexibility in their implementation provided that provincial interests are upheld. City Council's planning decisions are required to be consistent with the PPS. The Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe provides a framework for managing growth in the Greater Golden Horseshoe including: directions for where and how to grow; the provision of infrastructure to support growth; and protecting natural systems and cultivating a culture of conservation. City Council's planning decisions are required to conform, or not conflict, with the Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe. Official Plan The subject site is located within an Employment District on Map 2 Urban Structure. Employment Districts are to be promoted exclusively for economic activity and protected from the encroachment of non-economic functions. The site is designated as Employment Areas in the Official Plan Land Use Map 18, which are places of business and economic activity with permitted uses that include, but are not limited to: offices, manufacturing, warehousing, distribution, research and development facilities, utilities, media facilities, parks, hotels, ancillary retail, restaurants and small scale stores and services that serve area businesses and workers. Large scale retail uses are only permitted in Employment Areas on lands that front onto major streets as shown on Map 3. Staff report for action Preliminary Report - 99 Atlantic Ave 5

6 None of the above noted streets are identified as major streets on Map 3 of the Official Plan. The subject site is also located within the Garrison Common North Secondary Plan, and subject to Policy Area 3, where a 'healthy and vibrant economic district will be maintained by reinforcing existing economic sectors, encouraging appropriate new economic activities and establishing an environment conducive to future economic growth.' Under the current in-force policies, uses that are "encouraged" include manufacturing operations, business services, media and communication operations, film, video and recording production, cultural and artistic services, fine art production, live/work units and artistic studios. Retail uses are not included within the in-force policies for Area 3. The proposal will be reviewed against the in-force policies above as well as the policies of the recently adopted Official Plan Amendment (OPA) 231. OPA 231(By-law ) adopted by City Council on December 16, 17, 18 th 2013 and currently before the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing for approval, outlines new Official Plan policies for the City's economic health and employment areas. Under OPA 231, the site is proposed to be designated Core Employment, which permits secondary uses such as restaurants and retail that are ancillary to and on the same lot as the principal use and in addition support the area's primary employment uses. The uses are to be located within the ground floor levels of buildings with employment uses. In addition to the new Core Employment designation, the Area 3 Policy of the Garrison Common North Secondary Plan has been amended by OPA 231. The revised area specific policy for Liberty Village includes secondary 'small scale service uses such as banks, hotels, parks, workplace ancillary daycares, small scale retail and restaurant uses along with recreational uses to support the primary office use and provide amenities for the area's current and future employees'. Larger scale retail is permitted up to a maximum of 6,000 square metres, subject to provisions which include but are not limited to the following: the retail use cannot be stand alone and is to be incorporated into a multi-storey office building, and must front onto Atlantic Avenue, Liberty Street, and or Hanna Avenue. In January 2014, the City submitted OPA 231 to the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing for approval. The Minister has 180 days to issue a decision on the Official Plan Amendment. Zoning The site is zoned IC D3 N1.5 in the former City of Toronto By-law , as amended. The industrial commercial zone allows a total of 3 times density for the area of the lot. The area has a height limit of 28 metres. A variety of non-residential uses are permitted in IC zone such as office, workshops and studios, warehousing, distribution, retail and service shops, and some manufacturing. Staff report for action Preliminary Report - 99 Atlantic Ave 6

7 While restaurant, retail and service shop uses are generally permitted in an IC zone, exception (298) which applies to the site prohibits them in the Liberty Area. The site is not subject to the new harmonized City-wide Zoning By-law Please see Attachment 3 for a map of the Zoning. Site Plan Control A site plan application has been submitted and is also under review. Tree Preservation There are fifteen City-owned trees located on the City Boulevard adjacent to the subject site. The applicant's Arborist Report recommends the removal of the 14 City-trees located on Hanna Avenue, all Norway Maples, and the protection of 1 City-tree, a Honey Locust, located on Snooker Street. The Arborist Report proposes the removal of the trees in order to accommodate the removal of the berm on Hanna Avenue and introduce a pedestrian sidewalk, and replanting with 11 trees on Hanna Avenue. Urban Forestry staff are reviewing the application. Heritage Preservation Services Heritage Preservation Services have indicated their intention to designate the existing buildings on the site which are already listed on the City of Toronto's Inventory of Heritage Properties. The designation process is being carried out concurrently with the review of this application. Reasons for the Application The subject development application includes a significant retail component for the site that does not conform to the Official Plan's in-force Employment Areas designation. Under the current Official Plan, only ancillary retail uses are permitted on lands which do not front onto major streets as shown on Map 3. With a proposed retail floor space of 7,658 square metres, the application also exceeds OPA 231's Council adopted maximum of 6,000 square metres. Additionally, the proposal does not conform to the in-force policies for Area 3 within the Garrison Common North Secondary Plan, which does not encourage retail uses nor does it conform to Zoning By-law as amended. Exception (298) under Section 12(2) prohibits retail and services uses in an IC zone in the Liberty Area, which means that the proposed retail and service uses are not permitted. Additionally, the proposed height of the office building is above the permitted height allowances. Staff report for action Preliminary Report - 99 Atlantic Ave 7

8 COMMENTS Application Submission The following reports/studies were submitted with the application: - Arborist Report and Tree Preservation Plan; - Draft Zoning By-law Amendment; - Draft Official Plan Amendment; - Energy Modelling Report Summary; - Functional Servicing and Stormwater Management Report; - Geotechnical Investigation; - Heritage Impact Assessment; - Pedestrian Wind Assessment; - Planning and Urban Design Rationale; - Sun/Shadow Study; - Toronto Green Standards Checklist; - Toronto Green Standards Small Buildings Checklist; - Traffic Operations Assessment; and - 1:50 Colour Elevations A Notification of Complete Application was issued on April 8, Community Consultation Meeting A community consultation meeting was held on April 24, Approximately 30 people were in attendance. A number of issues were raised regarding: - the size and type of commercial/restaurant space that will occupy the building on Hanna Avenue and conflicts between the use and the residential building directly across the street, including but not limited to late hours, noise, loitering and garbage - future retail tenants should reflect the character of the Liberty Village community - shadowing and loss of views from the existing residential building to the east of the subject lands - loss of open space for the area of Liberty Village - potential for a parkette or open space, specifically at the corner of Hanna Avenue and Liberty Street - infrastructure capacity - Noise impacts from office buildings on adjacent residential building - Traffic implications Issues to be Resolved In addition to the items raised at the community consultation meeting, the following issues have been identified. - Employment Policies: - evaluating the appropriateness and size of the proposed retail, service and commercial uses for the overall proposal and within each of the buildings Staff report for action Preliminary Report - 99 Atlantic Ave 8

9 - evaluating how the proposal reflects Council adopted OPA 231, and the policy direction for Employment lands in Liberty Village. - Heritage/Urban Design - inclusion and treatment of heritage resources including maintaining views to the chimney stack - design, material and massing of new buildings in relation to the existing buildings, as well as the character and identity of the Liberty Village area - Public Realm - introduction of sidewalks - pedestrian connections to and thru the space - functionality of the privately- owned public open space including the usability and accessibility of the courtyard open space - pedestrian connectively throughout the site's open spaces and between buildings, and to the surrounding context - Technical aspects - Access, parking, loading and site servicing issues The TGS Checklist has been submitted by the applicant and is currently under review by City staff for compliance with the Tier 1 performance measures. Additional issues may be identified through the review of the application, agency comments and the community consultation process. CONTACT Aviva Pelt, Planner Tel. No Fax No apelt@toronto.ca SIGNATURE Jennifer Keesmaat, MES, MCIP, RPP Chief Planner and Executive Director City Planning Division ATTACHMENTS Attachment 1: Site Plan Attachment 2: Elevations [as provided by applicant] Attachment 3: Zoning Attachment 4: Official Plan Attachment 5: Application Data Sheet Staff report for action Preliminary Report - 99 Atlantic Ave 9

10 Attachment 1: Site Plan Staff report for action Preliminary Report - 99 Atlantic Ave 10

11 Attachment 2: Elevations Staff report for action Preliminary Report - 99 Atlantic Ave 11

12 Staff report for action Preliminary Report - 99 Atlantic Ave 12

13 Staff report for action Preliminary Report - 99 Atlantic Ave 13

14 Staff report for action Preliminary Report - 99 Atlantic Ave 14

15 Staff report for action Preliminary Report - 99 Atlantic Ave 15

16 Attachment 3: Zoning Staff report for action Preliminary Report - 99 Atlantic Ave 16

17 Attachment 4: Official Plan Staff report for action Preliminary Report - 99 Atlantic Ave 17

18 Attachment 5: Application Data Sheet Application Type Official Plan Amendment & Application STE 19 OZ Rezoning Number: Details OPA & Rezoning, Standard Application Date: March 14, 2014 Municipal Address: 99 ATLANTIC AVE Location Description: PL 765 LTS & PT LT48 LANE CLSD PL D1361 BLK A << ENTRANCE ADDRESS FOR 40 HANNA AVE **GRID S1908 Project Description: Proposed renovations and adaptive reuse of the existing buildings on the property for office uses with retail and services commercial use at the lower levels. Two new building are proposed within the existing surface parking lot areas, including a 8-storey office building with retail and service commercial uses at grade and a 2 storey building with retail and service commercial uses. Applicant: Agent: Architect: Owner: Design District Properties Inc WZMH Architects Design District Properties Inc PLANNING CONTROLS Official Plan Designation: Employment Areas Site Specific Provision: Zoning: IC D3 N1.5 Historical Status: Height Limit (m): 28 Site Plan Control Area: PROJECT INFORMATION Site Area (sq. m): 6145 Height: Storeys: 8 Frontage (m): Metres: Depth (m): Total Ground Floor Area (sq. m): 5110 Total Total Residential GFA (sq. m): 0 Parking Spaces: 212 Total Non-Residential GFA (sq. m): Loading Docks 0 Total GFA (sq. m): Lot Coverage Ratio (%): 83 Floor Space Index: 4.1 DWELLING UNITS FLOOR AREA BREAKDOWN (upon project completion) Tenure Type: Above Grade Below Grade Rooms: 0 Residential GFA (sq. m): 0 0 Bachelor: 0 Retail GFA (sq. m): Bedroom: 0 Office GFA (sq. m): Bedroom: 0 Industrial GFA (sq. m): Bedroom: 0 Institutional/Other GFA (sq. m): 0 0 Total Units: 0 CONTACT: PLANNER NAME: Aviva Pelt, Planner TELEPHONE: Staff report for action Preliminary Report - 99 Atlantic Ave 18