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On April 30th, Council passed an ambitious and inspiring vision for the future of our downtown – the Downtown Secondary Plan. It calls for preservation of the heritage core, enhanced public realm and parkland, commercial and residential intensification, and demands a high degree of urban design for new buildings. It calls for us to “build beautifully”.
The vision is a great one. Now we have to prove we can deliver….
Next week — Monday, May 7th — will be the first test. An application for an 18-storey residential condominium development for 148-150 Macdonell is coming to Council for a decision. Here is what it looks like (images from City of Guelph development file):
View from Allan's Bridge
View from John Galt Park
What do you think? Is this an example of building beautifully?
Each successive generation leaves its mark on the city through its architecture. The Georgians, Victorians and Edwardians left a recognizable presence in our downtown. A great city is built in layers — it includes well-maintained heritage buildings left in place, and leaves room for the current generation to add its own layer on undeveloped sites. This is what we are trying to do with the Downtown Secondary Plan.
So the question is — is this the signature architecture we want to leave behind? What does this building say about our community? Does it live up to the Downtown Plan? Is it massively inspiring? Will you drive by and point it out as a fine example of the greatness of our city? Is this the best we can do?
Would love to hear your thoughts…
LP
I had a call from a constituent today about one of the Environics survey questions re: highrise buildings in Guelph. For those who don’t know, the city is conducting a survey on the many issues that Guelph is currently facing to feed into the upcoming Strategic Plan, ranging from taxes to recreation and everyting in between.
The specific question of concern is worded as follows:
“As the city continues to grow we need to make choices about the budget we allow. Some people think taller buildings of 7 to 18 storeys that allow more green space are better. Others think we should only have low-rise buildings – 1 to 6 storeys – even though it would cover more ground area. Which of these views is closest to your own?”
The caller felt that the question was too black and white — that the answer had to be “either/or” — and did not leave enough room for a fullsome response.
I agree.
In some locations, highrises might work. In other locations, a highrise is undesirable. Same with lowrise. In some locations, a lowrise would fit nicely and have plenty of greenspace. In others, a lowrise surrounded by asphalt is undesirable. Planning a city is not an either/or exercise. Seven stories is very different than 18 stories, with different impacts at different locations.
I have been fairly consistent in my preference for lowrise forms of development, but why does it have to be at the expense of greenspace?
Guelph must grow, and our downtown core will accommodate a significant percentage of that growth, with approximately 9,000 new residents by 2030. Highrises are not the only form of development to accommodate this new growth. In fact, it is my understanding through the modeling that has been done to date, that Guelph can accommodate this new growth with buildings under eight stories, through adaptive re-use of underutilized existing buildings, brownfield redevelopment and new construction.
I look forward to the results.
MSN.com has ranked Guelph as Canada’s # 1 Next Most Livable City. We are no stranger to being in the top 1o or 15, but this ranking is especially sweet because our Community Energy Initiative, our world-class university and our stong neighbourhoods are mentioned as some of the reasons Guelph ranks so high.
Check out the article here…
LP
Thanks to RR, who sent a link to the CTV news clip re: 716 Gordon Street development application presentation to City Council on January 17, 2011.
View it here: http://swo.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20110118/guelph-student-housing-proposal-110118/20110118/?hub=SWOHome
Monday, January 17th, 2011
7:00 pm in Council Chambers, 1 Carden Street
All of the planning documents related to this application can be found here.
To register as a delegation to speak at the council meeting, contact the City Clerk’s office at clerks@guelph.ca. If you do not want to speak, you can still submit your comments in writing to the same email address and your letter will be circulated to all members of Council and city planning staff.
LP
Guelph’s bid to be crowned Kraft Hockeyville 2011 needs more momentum on the final stretch!
Share you photos and stories and spread the word to your friends, family, neighbours and co-workers.
The deadline is January 30th, 2011.
Get out there and show your community spirit!
Announcement from OUR 3 Bridges Neighbourhood Group:
Hi Everyone,
This announcement is a little tardy but for those who haven’t been down to Water Street in awhile, the rinks are open! There are 2 rinks this year, an enlarged main rink and a small toddler rink. People were actually skating on them as early as Dec 22. Enjoy!
Volunteers required
1) Flooders – We would like to build 6 – 8 flooding teams. Flooding orientation will be Monday night @ 7:30 starting at 80 Water St across from the rink. We would like it if all Rink Rats were to come out so we could share our collective knowledge and all be on the same page. If you are interested in flooding but can’t make it Monday, please email us at info@our3bridges.ca to get on our list and we will train you at a later date.
2) Shovellers – Anyone is welcome to help with shoveling. Snow needs to be shoveled but we also need to clear the rink each time we flood. To get on a volunteer list for this duty please email us at info@our3bridges.ca
The more volunteers the better so we can spread the work around fairly.
We would like to again thank everyone who has contributed in making these rinks possible this year. We are nearing our financial goal. This is truly a community effort and shows that with everyone kicking in, we can accomplish big things!
See you at the rink(s)!
Trevor
Our urban forest is a major municipal asset. Cities spend a lot of time, money and resources maintaining “grey” infrastructure, but not enough on “green” infrastructure. Green infrastructure is linked to quality of life, recreation, air quality, urban cooling, carbon offsets, and so many other intangible benefits, such as aesthetic beauty.
Grey infrastructure is, let’s face it, boring. It’s underground, it’s invisible, and rarely appreciated. Green infrastructure is something we enjoy everyday.
It used to be that tree planting and naturalization were community efforts. Scouts, Rotary, OPIRG, Trees for Guelph etc. are still involved in such efforts and are making a difference.
We need to expand the community effort. Council is faced with a tough budget year in 2010. Tree replacements (1 for 1) will likely continue, but we will never make a dent in increasing our canopy at that rate. The saying goes “the best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is NOW.”
So let’s rally! Would you “adopt a tree” for your local park?
People buy far-away invisible stars as Christmas gifts. And service orgs adopt a km of roadside highway. Why not adopt a local tree you can see grow everyday and one that your grandchildren can enjoy a generation from now?
Royal City Park needs more trees. The park was originally funded by the IODE as a gift to the Royal City. Will our community continue this tradition? So many individuals and groups benefit from this park — Old University Neighbourhood Association, John McCrae School, the Boathouse, the Animal Hospital, just to name a few. How about adopting a tree?
Guelph Urban Forest Friends (GUFF), Sierra Club, Council of Canadians, LIMITS — would you adopt a tree?
I will. On behalf of my family, I will purchase a tree for Royal City Park.
Anyone else?
Four redevelopment concepts for the Baker Street Library are available for review as part of the agenda package for Monday’s Council meeting. Link here: http://guelph.ca/uploads/Council_and_Committees/council_agenda_021709.pdf.
Go to page 36 to see Baker Street drawings.
Please tell me what you think — I really need some feedback on this.
Thanks
From Norm McLeod, Chief Librarian
Dear Council Members:
Numbers often tell a compelling story. For 125 years Guelph has enjoyed the services of a highly successful public library. In recent years demand for all of the GPL’s expanding services has grown exponentially. As Rob O’Flanagan reported in a recent article in the Guelph Mercury (Feb11, 2008), the age of the Internet has not killed libraries, it has invigorated them.
Circulation of library materials has increased by 49% since 2000, more than four times the rate of Guelph’s population growth. Demand for library materials has more than doubled in the past twenty-five years, with over 1.73 million items borrowed in 2008.
Numbers also tell a compelling story about the space needs for the new central library. The figures highlighted in the attached PowerPoint presentation do just that. Originally presented to the library board at their December meeting, “Right-sizing the Guelph Public Library” supports the need for a new central branch of at least 90,000 square feet.
This presentation will be shared with a number of community organizations and will be made available to the general public via the library’s website. However we first wanted to share our findings with the mayor, members of city council and the senior management team.
We have also included a condensed web-friendly version:
Download document:
right_sizing_gpl4
