Spitting words such as “unfair,” “absurd” and “makes no sense,” councillor Josh Matlow is joining local residents in their disappointment over the Ontario Municipal Board’s (OMB) recent decision to allow a major condo development at 95 and 99 Broadway Ave. to go ahead as proposed.
“This is a prime example of why I am trying to free the city from the OMB,” Matlow said. “This is an unfair decision that just makes no sense.
“Schools in the area are already overcrowded, the subway line there is overburdened and the infrastructure there just isn’t capable of handling this type of intensification,” Matlow added.
The proposal, fully approved by the OMB and owned by Timothy James Poupore, is for two 30-storey towers built on a common eight-storey podium for a total of 38 storeys, with 853 apartments and 367 parking spaces in seven storeys of underground parking. There will be 37 bachelor units and 527 one-bedroom, 281 two-bedroom and eight three-bedroom units.
City of Toronto, City Planning staff; Toronto City Council; and local residents’ associations were hotly opposed, due to the proposed density, which is 22 times the lot area of what city regulations are for that lot near Yonge Street and Eglinton Avenue.
Vocal neighbouring resident Sean Boulton said he, too, was “very disappointed” the OMB gave full approval.
“The height is objectionable, sure, but the density is outrageous,” he said. “It appears, basically, that the OMB flatly ignored any concerns council or the residents here had; unfortunately, it’s also not surprising. I would argue that the neighbourhood is already beyond our breaking point and there just isn’t enough infrastructure here to handle it [the density of the development],” Boulton added, saying it sets an incredible precedent for other developments in the area outside of the Yonge-Eglinton intersection growth node where high-rise towers would be permitted.
