By Pepper Parr
September 5th, 2017
BURLINGTON, ON
The debate on the construction of a 26 storey mixed-use development at the corner of John and Brant Street opposite city hall is getting tied up in the debate over the Grow Bold discussions that are ongoing.
There is a meeting Thursday evening at the AGB, that will look at the public reaction to the plans for what gets done with the downtown mobility hub.
The city prepares the 3D renderings as part of its engaging the citizen’s program. The 3D renderings give viewers a sense as to what a community would look like when a development is completed.
The view is close to what you would expect from a drone that was flown over a community. It will take several viewings to see what is being proposed.
Click for a fascinating view of what is being proposed.
Wow – Looks Great !! I love how the video shows no one walking in the streets which is pretty accurate once this altitudinous metal box goes up.
Many people moved to Burlington to get away from these exact kind of dense pack cloud busters. Its positioning will perfectly cast a cold shadow onto the 11:00 AM Remembrance day Ceremonies putting our Cenotaph into the cold and dark.
Holy $h*t that thing is big.
316 feet is the same distance from Locust to Brant along Ontario street but still this building dwarfs everything. I’m shocked to see how large the floor plate at 750m really is.
I was initially please by the low number of units this building contained. The height is one thing but density is what drives the associated problems. Carriage Gate references the Provincial Places to Grow where they make great hay of Burlington’s targeted 200 people and jobs for the Urban Growth Centre. Firstly, the Provincial Liberals are going to be hard pressed to see a minority government so I would expect these arbitrary numbers to disappear. And thank God if they do. The provincial government may have mandated certain density but they never investigated if it was at all possible. 200 people is an important as it sustains rapid transit however downtown Burlington wasn’t designed for rapid transit and no one is bringing us the subways…
Secondly, while the Watson Group’s April 2017 paper suggests intensification will have only a marginal effect on City finances it makes numerous favourable assumptions. For instance they assume a linear relationship with infrastructure usage and replacement. Simple wrong. Use a road twice as much and repair costs increase at more then twice the rate. Even this report to council in May suggested the 21% required increase in the Mill rate was mild in inflation adjusted terms. I would assert that property taxes will skyrocket and the delay between new builds and accompanying support like libraries, schools, and community centres will be long and overdue.
Burlington Citizens are in charge of their future. If want to build to accommodate more people then lets see how the voting goes in 2018.
LOL Grow Bold, really means, Grow Overcrowded.
Video is a slick presentation–for the most part shot at a distance from this 26 story monstrosity so that it “appears” less imposing compared to the surrounding buildings.
I agree that it’s slick, but I think it demonstrates just how big (read high) this proposed building would be if built, literally dwarfing everything else in the downtown. It appears mighty imposing to me.
When buildings get built, they rarely live up to the excitement conveyed by the artist’s rendering. This building’s artistic rendering is already disappointing – a humdrum design that will add nothing to the downtown, including street vibrancy.
The 3-D representation I really want to see is the one from the planning department of what the downtown will look like in 15 years. I expect the future of Grow Bold is a sea of monotonous monoliths that lack imagination, human connection or community character.