Weakness in the condo market is having a ripple effect on a 海角社区官网elementary school that was planned for the podium of a residential tower on the waterfront.
Hailed in January 2022 as a solution to the challenge of building new schools in dense urban areas, where boards can鈥檛 afford to buy the land required for a traditional campus, or where land is unavailable,聽Phase 2聽of the Sugar Wharf project by Menkes has been scaled down and the proposed school site shifted from the podium, or base, of a condo tower to a four-storey standalone building.
Phase 2 has also been converted from condos to rental units, according to the city.聽聽
In May 2022, the TDSB . A year later, it . Now the TDSB is pinning its hopes on 2029.聽聽
鈥淭he TDSB is working with Menkes鈥檚 evolving timeline, which has included a redesign of the development and relocation of the school site in response to the changing condo market,鈥 said TDSB spokesperson Emma Moynihan.
Parents who moved into the area, expecting the school would be ready in time for their young children to attend, say they鈥檙e disappointed.
鈥淏y the time the school is ready, they won鈥檛 even have access to it,鈥 said local parent Latoya Reyes, who has three children, ages 12, 8 and 6. 鈥淭hey鈥檒l be in high school.鈥
Children in the area are being bused to Dundas Junior Elementary School in South Riverdale.聽
It’s possible the school may even be delayed beyond 2029, said elected TDSB trustee Shelley Laskin, who also sat on the board of the 海角社区官网Lands Corp., a wholly owned subsidiary of the TDSB, before a provincial takeover of the board this summer.
鈥淚t doesn鈥檛 even have building permits yet. Until you actually have the building permits, until you鈥檝e actually hired the contractor, nothing is set,” said Laskin, adding that it’s not unusual for a school to take seven to 10 years from concept to completion.聽
The new Lower Yonge Precinct where the school is to be built will have a population of more than 13,000 people once all the proposed residential towers are up, and the new Central Waterfront area will add 76,000 people, including 1,000 elementary students, according to TDSB planning documents.
Existing elementary schools in the downtown don鈥檛 have enough space to accommodate the additional students and are located on sites without the capacity to expand or add portables聽鈥斅爐he traditional land acquisition model for the TDSB has been a standalone building on a three-acre parcel of land.聽
The podium school was to be the first of its kind in the province, a blueprint for a future that would allow classrooms to open at the same time as families moved into their new homes, creating neighbourhoods where students could walk to school, parks, libraries and recreation facilities, and where child care would also be offered.
The school was to be located in the third floor of a condo podium with exclusive use of a playground on the third-floor rooftop and access to an adjacent city park.聽
Students would also be able to make use of a community centre with a 25-metre pool within walking distance, in a new condominium tower at 1 Yonge St. That pool has been closed for months while the city and the developer argue over who should be held responsible for the leak that forced its closure late last year.
Parent Pam Nash said she moved to the area because her family was offered a unit in the Sugar Wharf development under Toronto鈥檚 affordable housing program, and she understood that there would be a community centre with a pool and a school within walking distance of her unit. She was disappointed on both counts.聽
鈥淭he city鈥檚 encouraging families to come live here, and the families come, but then there鈥檚 no amenities,鈥 said Nash, whose son is busing to Dundas Junior Elementary.
鈥淭hey say they鈥檙e changing the waterfront area for families. No they鈥檙e not. There鈥檚 nothing here.鈥
Menkes recently sought approval from the city to scale down the size of the three towers in Phase Two of the Sugar Wharf project by 23 storeys in all.
The three towers will now stand at 70, 78 and 85 storeys, down from 79, 87 and 90 storeys.
As a result of the reduction of floor area, the number of affordable rental units聽鈥 required to be 10 per cent of the residential floor area for the entire development聽鈥 has been decreased to 2,640 from 2,705.
The site layout has also changed, with the school and the daycare now being proposed as separate from the towers, located within the remaining facade of the former LCBO office heritage building, which was demolished.
鈥淚t will still be delivered as part of the development,” according to the city of Toronto, in a statement to the Star.聽“Delivering the school as a standalone building will allow the construction and completion to occur faster.鈥
Other issues, like the building cladding, are still being determined and are part of an ongoing site plan review, according to the city.
Occupancy dates for Phase 2, which includes plans for a rental building connected to the school, are tied to the pending start of construction, said Menkes spokesperson Danny Roth, of Brandon Communications.
鈥淲hile we are ready to begin construction, necessary agreements with our municipal and federal partners towards the development of rental housing continue to be negotiated,” he wrote, in response to questions from the Star.聽
“As in our past projects, updates will be provided to the various stakeholders, as appropriate.”
Real estate agents say Phase 2 of the Sugar Wharf development fell victim to the same market forces that have delayed numerous other projects.
鈥淭here isn’t that incentive for builders to finish stuff,”聽said Sam Saberikamareh, of SaberiSixRealEstate. “New condos aren鈥檛 flying off the shelves. It鈥檚 one of the worst markets in memory for preconstruction condos.鈥
海角社区官网realtor Ravi Singh said delays affecting condo developments in the city have included a global pandemic, inflation and supply chain issues.
鈥淓very single project along Queens Quay has faced delays,鈥 said Singh.
鈥淭he intensification along the waterfront is going to be fantastic, but nothing is ever going to be on time, and nothing鈥檚 ever going to be on budget. And with this school, we鈥檙e dealing with parents and children who are embracing the idea of having local access to education amenities that just aren鈥檛 there,鈥 said Singh.
鈥淔or what it鈥檚 worth, that鈥檚 not that different than a subdivision in Mississauga or Etobicoke or Scarborough.鈥
Singh believes podium schools and developers working together with the city to provide community amenities remain the way of the future.
鈥淨uite honestly, land values are so high that podium schools are really one of the only methods of addressing the cost of land and the need to service the community.”聽
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