Following a mid-March Ontario Municipal Board (OMB) hearing over a proposed high-rise condo development at the long-standing Yonge Street Art Shoppe location, all sides are now considering if they will seek mediation and a compromise.
“There’s an opportunity right now to see if the parties can come to a compromise that’s agreeable for everybody,” explained the ward councillor, Josh Matlow. “It looks like it’s headed to mediation, but nothing’s concrete.”
He added that any further OMB hearings will not be scheduled until all sides decide if mediation is possible or “if they’ll just fight it out at the board.”
If mediation is chosen, a member of the OMB will oversee the discussions at no cost to either party.
“As far as the current proposal goes, it flies in the face of the city’s official plan, but the residents would support a reasonable development there without much issue,” Matlow said.
The current development application, presented by Freed Developments, is seeking a two-tower high-rise, one of 38 storeys and the other reaching 29, with a common base at 2131 Yonge St., just south of Eglinton Avenue and outside of the Yonge-Eglinton official plan growth node.
“Somewhere in the six- to 15-storey window would be the more appropriate scale there,” Matlow said.
Community group SERRA (South Eglinton Residents and Ratepayers Association) member Terry Mills agreed mid-rise would be far more palatable.
“There are sides to this issue, and in particular, the residential neighbourhood along its eastern flank is not to be deteriorated,” Mills said.
The Art Shoppe will be moving to a new location but as of press time had yet to announce exactly where.
Representatives from Freed Developments declined to comment.
