February 24, 2020
On February 24, 2020 the team held a Public Open House at the Weston Park Baptist Church to introduce ourselves to the community and get feedback on the project’s objectives.
Meeting Note
Date: Monday February 24, 2020 @ 7:00 pm- 9:00 pm
Location: Weston Park Baptist Church, 1871 Weston Road, Toronto
Attendance: approximately 120
Host: Weston Park Baptist Church and Castlepoint Numa
Moderator: Steve Rowley of Weston Park Baptist Church (“WPBC”)
AGENDA
Welcoming Remarks from Councillor Nunziata
Introduction of Project Team (Weston Park Baptist Church and Castlepoint Numa)
Project Background and partnership overview (Weston Park Baptist Church)
Project Development experience and objectives (Castlepoint Numa)
Project Milestones and immediate next steps (Castlepoint Numa)
Discussion (All)
Summary Notes of Meeting
Francis Nunziata opened the meeting by thanking everyone for attending and acknowledging the large turnout of 120+ attendees. She stressed that any redevelopment initiative must engage the community so the needs and wishes of the people who live and work in the Ward are reflected in the redevelopment. She noted there is no development plan or application with City Hall at this time for the site because the hosts (the joint venture of the Weston Park Baptist Church and Castlepoint Numa known as Castlepoint Weston Limited Partnership) are committed to engaging with stakeholders throughout the design process and that this meeting is the first step in moving towards putting together a proposal for the site at 1865-1885 Weston Road. She encouraged the attendees to actively share ideas with the Castlepoint Weston Limited Partnership so that the proposed application will reflect the community’s input.
Steve Rowley and Muyiwa Falope (Weston Park Baptist Church), provided the historical background of the Weston Park Baptist Church from its founding in 1907 to present day. They cited the congregation’s willingness to make bold decisions throughout its life span including the early expansions financed by the congregation, major renovations, and creation of innovative programs such as Weston Area Emergency Support (WAES) and Frontlines. They shared that the WPBC shares the church building with the TC3 Children’s Choir as well as Spanish and Brazilian congregations. The WPBC also announced its latest bold initiative in formalizing the Joint Venture (JV) with Castlepoint Numa, which was finalized on February 20, 2020.
Alfredo Romano and Elsa Fancello (Castlepoint Numa) provided the participants with an overview of the principles and vision of the company and highlighted of a few selected projects including the Auto Building at 158 Sterling Road and the L-Tower at 8 The Esplanade. They talked about the opportunity that they see in Weston and what an honour it is to be working in the community.
After the presentations, the floor was opened for questions/comments and Elsa and Alfredo provided responses for Castlepoint Numa and Councillor Nunziata spoke to City-related enquires.
Questions / Comments
Q: The traffic at the intersection of Weston and Lawrence is hazardous and dangerous for pedestrians. How will you address?
A: Our transportation consultant will be providing a traffic analysis including recommendations to ensure pedestrian and cyclist safety. This traffic analysis will be prepared with our future development applications to the City and will be publicly shared.
Q: What will the residential component of the development look like?
A: The design process kicked off in March 2020. This first stage will focus on programmatic mix, height, and massing in preparation for an Official Plan Amendment and Rezoning application. Design details - such as materiality, fenestration patterns, etc - will be determined in the future detailed design stage through the Site Plan approval application process.
Q: There is a need for a childcare centre.
A: We are exploring incorporating a childcare centre as part of our development.
Q: I am hoping you can make the development as environmentally friendly as possible with some state of the art green initiatives. Along with preserving our heritage, building good buildings this is what our community and the world needs.
A: We will be exploring green initiatives as part of the redevelopment, including green roofs and energy modelling for the future buildings. In regards to preserving and adaptively reusing the heritage structures, as mentioned, we will be exploring how best to incorporate the older portion of the church and the bank building as part of the larger redevelopment. We are committed to city building and agree with your statement that this is what the community and world needs.
Q: Will there be an “underground element” (i.e. parking) for the project?
A: Yes, there will likely be two levels of below grade parking.
Q: As you are no doubt aware Frances (Nunziata) has led our local PSCC – Pedestrian Safety Cycling Committee, yielding considerable success. Are you committed to cycling connectivity (above & beyond the mandatory City parking spaces required?)
A: Yes, in our projects we typically deliver Toronto Green Standard Tier 2 bicycle parking targets. In addition, we are committed to supporting active transportation.
Q: Could there be a link to the West Toronto Rail Path?
A: This request falls within the purview of Metrolinx. That said, the development team would welcome and support the extension of the West Toronto Rail Path to Weston and will actively engage in that dialogue.
Q: Could a YMCA be included in the redevelopment?
A: Once we are further along in the design process and have a plan that the YMCA can respond to, we will set up a meeting to discuss the potential opportunity of having a YMCA on the site.
Q: We want to see the redevelopment reflect the diversity and newer residents and all the demographics of the area.
A: We will continue to consult the community early and often throughout the redevelopment process in order to ensure we capture your feedback and infuse the development with multiculturalism.
Q: Heard ‘No developer wants to come to Weston” at a recent public statutory meeting so asking Castlepoint to articulate "Why Weston"?
A: In our opinion, it is an honour to work in any community, and we view all our projects as legacy projects to be proud of (none of our projects are "cookie cutter"). Our CEO, Alfredo Romano, grew up nearby and as a Downsview Beaver played hockey here in Weston. Besides Alfredo's personal fondness for the community, the recent Metrolinx investment in the Weston UP Express station has connected the community to the core and to the airport, which opens up new, exciting opportunities to support a critical concentration of people and businesses at Weston and build on the great outdoor spaces already existing in the neighbourhood.
Summary of the Interactive Project Objective Prioritization Panels
Upon arrival attendees were invited by representatives from Weston Park Baptist Church, Castlepoint Numa and Councillor Nunziata to participate in an interactive component presented in Poster Boards with the Project Objectives. Attendees were asked to provide their contact information and were invited to express their priorities on the four Project Objectives Poster Boards using stickers. Each attendee was given four stickers each to place on the panels to indicate the project objectives that were most important to them. A total of 265 stickers were placed. The attendees were also given sticky notes to write down their own project objectives to add to the panels. Four additional project objectives were written by participants. These Poster Boards were available to attendees before, during and after the meeting.
The top five objectives that received the most stickers are:
Create a vibrant community hub supported by diverse uses and user groups – not a community centre but a centre for the community (43 stickers)
Ensure a high standard of architecture and design shall be central to the development of the site (40 stickers)
Introduce a diversity of uses including community, retail, commercial, and residential (34 stickers)
Ensure that flexibility in how the church and community spaces can be reprogrammed – create flexible spaces to support diverse programming opportunities (29 stickers)
Explore opportunities to better connect the site to the Weston Lions Arena and Recreation Area, as well future public realm improvements along the rail corridor (19 stickers)
Objective
Create a vibrant community hub supported by diverse uses and user groups – not a community centre but a centre for the community
43 stickers
Create a welcoming entrance and public gathering space within the centre of the project
6 Stickers
Incorporate a vibrant and inviting public realm that offers outdoor program opportunities
6 Stickers
Ensure church long-term viability and prominence
17 Stickers
Create new revenue sources for the church
13 Stickers
Ensure that flexibility in how the church and community spaces can be reprogrammed – create flexible spaces to support diverse programming opportunities
29 Stickers
Ensure a high standard of architecture and design shall be central to the development of the site
40 Stickers
Incorporate the heritage aspects of both the WPBC and Scotia Bank sites to the extent possible
18 Stickers
Ensure that project is financially feasible and implementable
12 Stickers
Introduce a diversity of uses including community, retail, commercial, and residential
34 Stickers
Explore opportunities to better connect the site to the Weston Lions Arena and Recreation Area, as well future public realm improvements along the rail corridor
19 Stickers
Ensure clear and direct access to the buildings and on-site publicly accessible spaces
3 Stickers
Provide an inviting gateway to the new transit station
7 Stickers
Enhance pedestrian and cycling connections to the transit station and ensure that connections feel safe
9 Stickers
Participants’ Additional Objectives
Affordable Housing
7 Stickers
Community Centre Young
0 Stickers
Parking for transit and community users/visitors
0 Stickers
Development proportional to Weston Village
2 Stickers
