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  #81  
Old Posted Aug 12, 2008, 1:06 PM
BusyBerliner BusyBerliner is offline
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Another problem is that Waterloo still doesn't have any approved urban design guidelines.

Without any council approved design policy to regulate architecture beyond general massing, the City's planners unfortunately have little grounds to challenge or reject mediocre crap. There are some aspects of design that they can control like setbacks and height; but things like architectural style, colours, and materials are off limits until Waterloo chooses to catch up to other cities in this regard.
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  #82  
Old Posted Aug 12, 2008, 3:47 PM
jcollins jcollins is offline
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Originally Posted by BusyBerliner View Post
Another problem is that Waterloo still doesn't have any approved urban design guidelines.
What does it take to get some sort of guidelines?
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  #83  
Old Posted Aug 12, 2008, 4:57 PM
BusyBerliner BusyBerliner is offline
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City staff actually wrote up some urban design guidelines for nodes and corridors back in 2006, but council never approved them. Not sure why. I can't remember if those draft guidelines addessed colour and materials though.

Essentially, it's entirely up to city council whether or not design is priority and if they want to impliment design guidelines and/or a design review panel as most progressive large and mid-sized cities have already done.
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  #84  
Old Posted Sep 4, 2008, 11:00 PM
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Waterloo City Council will be voting to rezone this property. Looks like somethign is actually happening here:

By-law to amend By-law 1108 to Medium Density Two "MD2",
Multiple Residential 25 "MR 25", Commercial Two 12 "C2-12"
and Site Specific Provisions, 104-106 Erb Street West,
(Barrelyards former Canbar lands) (DS-08-42, September 8,
2008 and June 25, 2007)
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  #85  
Old Posted Sep 5, 2008, 12:24 AM
Waterlooian4Life Waterlooian4Life is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by metropolis View Post
Waterloo City Council will be voting to rezone this property. Looks like somethign is actually happening here:

By-law to amend By-law 1108 to Medium Density Two "MD2",
Multiple Residential 25 "MR 25", Commercial Two 12 "C2-12"
and Site Specific Provisions, 104-106 Erb Street West,
(Barrelyards former Canbar lands) (DS-08-42, September 8,
2008 and June 25, 2007)
If you read the report in the packets it is actually the final go ahead for the barrelyards it sounds like this project could actually be starting soon!!!!
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  #86  
Old Posted Sep 5, 2008, 2:26 AM
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At this point, I almost just want them to get on with it. I'll agree with people here that the designs are architecturally drab, but fortunately this area is on the fringes of uptown and won't even fully blend in with the urban fabric when it's finished. I'd be more concerned if these designs were on King street. However, it's close enough that the boost in population and employment will have significant positive spin-offs for uptown.
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  #87  
Old Posted Sep 5, 2008, 1:14 PM
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Originally Posted by Cambridgite View Post
At this point, I almost just want them to get on with it. I'll agree with people here that the designs are architecturally drab, but fortunately this area is on the fringes of uptown and won't even fully blend in with the urban fabric when it's finished. I'd be more concerned if these designs were on King street. However, it's close enough that the boost in population and employment will have significant positive spin-offs for uptown.
Couldn't agree more.
Let's get this thing rolling. Numerous empty lots with people just holding doesn't trigger additional development. Get more people living there and increase the demand.
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  #88  
Old Posted Sep 5, 2008, 7:56 PM
myfaceisonfire myfaceisonfire is offline
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I wonder why Auburn felt the need to create an offshoot called Silver Lake Developments to be the developer of this project? Maybe we'll get a higher end development than other Auburn projects. Probably not, but it would be nice

I still maintain my stance that I'd rather see nothing happen here than to see a bunch of stucco slabs go up that will pollute our skyline for decades to come. It does seem like Auburn has a slightly grander vision for the development but I will believe it when I see it.

It's nice that they're building a "central park" (Can they really call it that?) running through the middle of the development and linking it to uptown. I'm also glad that they'll be burying all the hydro lines, that will certainly improve the aesthetics of the area. Still, I'm leery, very leery.
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  #89  
Old Posted Sep 7, 2008, 3:20 PM
0sprey 0sprey is offline
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it is interesting that they would create "Silver Lake Developments" for this project. reminds me of a couple of 'developer' stories i've heard regarding housing in Mississauga.

They form 'offshoot' companies to build subdivisions. Then when houses are built and the complaints start coming in from owners, they have the option of folding the 'offshoot' and are no longer responsible for answering poor workmanship complaints.

caught a few people i know off guard when they bought their houses. and due to some loopholes, the 'mother company' can't be held accountable!

...but i've seen this done in other industries outside of construction so it's not new.
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  #90  
Old Posted Sep 9, 2008, 11:58 AM
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City Council has approved the project!

Tuesday, September 09, 2008 - 05:21 AM

570 News
The city of Waterloo has officially approved the new subdivision known as the BarrelYards.

It will feature a 20 million dollar luxury hotel at the former Canbar site.

The modern building will go up on Erb Street in Waterloo and will feature 150 rooms, including 38 apartment-style suites for extended stays.

Michael Siskind with Decade Group says the hotel
will fill a gap in the local hospitality industry.

The BarrelYards will also include a 21-storey apartment building and one thousand residential units, as well as office space.

Decade Group is working with Auburn Developments on the project.

Construction is slated to start in the spring.
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  #91  
Old Posted Sep 9, 2008, 1:05 PM
myfaceisonfire myfaceisonfire is offline
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Wasn't development supposed to start on this bad boy last spring? I remember some fabulous raving quotes from Auburn about how excited they were to get a shovel in the ground - and that was this time last year. I suppose logistics and red tape may have slowed things a little but to be a full year behind already doesn't bode well.

Any word on who the hotel operator is going to be? I guess this is one more nail in the Westin coffin. Too bad, I'm a big Westin fanboy. I'd hate to have to settle for like a run of the mill Hampton or Garden Inn like the ones popping up along the 401 corridor.
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  #92  
Old Posted Sep 9, 2008, 2:44 PM
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Originally Posted by myfaceisonfire View Post
Wasn't development supposed to start on this bad boy last spring? I remember some fabulous raving quotes from Auburn about how excited they were to get a shovel in the ground - and that was this time last year.
That's what I remember.

Quote:
Originally Posted by myfaceisonfire View Post
Any word on who the hotel operator is going to be? I guess this is one more nail in the Westin coffin. Too bad, I'm a big Westin fanboy. I'd hate to have to settle for like a run of the mill Hampton or Garden Inn like the ones popping up along the 401 corridor.
Yeah, that would be unfortunate. We have enough of those already.
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  #93  
Old Posted Sep 10, 2008, 7:20 PM
myfaceisonfire myfaceisonfire is offline
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It looks like the hotel on the Barrel Yards property is going to be operated by The Decade Group. I looked them up in regards to hotel management and wasn't exactly blown away with their two "flagship" projects:





Combined with Auburn's terrible track record this can't be good. I hope the city knows what they've committed to here. It could end in major embarrassment. At least the Westin proposal isn't dead

http://www.waterloochronicle.ca/news/article/142452

Quote:
New luxury hotel in uptown gets approval
By Greg MacDonald
Business
Sep 10, 2008


A proposed development in uptown Waterloo that will feature more than 1,000 residential condominium units and a luxury hotel is being lauded by city councillors as a new landmark for the city.

The BarrelYards, which was approved in principle by council last summer, is to be built on the Canbar lands near the corner of Erb Street and Father David Bauer Drive.

The project is slated to be one of the biggest redevelopments of land that the city has ever seen, with multiple multi-storey buildings and retail space.

"This is monumental," said Coun. Mark Whaley. "This development has the opportunity to change the face of the community as it never has been changed before."

Auburn Developments also announced on Monday a 150-room luxury hotel for the site.

The $20-million BarrelYards hotel will be run by Decade Group, a real estate company that runs some hotels in Ontario. It will be built on Erb Street and fit in architecturally with the rest of the development, said Mike Siskind, principal of the Decade Group.

The hotel will also be able to host conferences for groups of up to 200 people, offer amenities like a pool and room service and a branded restaurant will be in the building.

The hotel will be the first of its kind in Waterloo, said Auburn president Jamie Kirch.

"Uptown Waterloo deserves a wonderful upscale hotel and that's what we'll bring you," Kirch said.

Business leaders and retailers have been calling for an uptown hotel over the last few years and First Gulf Developments has floated the idea of building a Westin on some of its property in the core.

Though the plan is moving forward now, it's been a slow process.


The question of what to do with the Canbar land has been on the city's mind since the late 1990s.

It took more than a year for the city and the developer to come to an agreement and will take several years to construct all the aspects of the BarrelYards.

But now that there is some forward momentum, Waterloo can look forward to a different look in the uptown, said Mayor Brenda Halloran.

"This has the chance to be very transformative," she said.

The city will contribute over $700,000 to the project, mainly for upgrades and changes to Father David Bauer Drive.

It will also be on the hook for 25 per cent of the cost of burying hydro lines along that street.

Waterloo North Hydro will also kick in a quarter of the funding, while the developer will contribute the rest.

Auburn will pay more than $730,000 for its share of the hydro and road repairs.

That's the kind of cost-sharing that council welcomes, and councillors would like to see more of it as the city intensifies.
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  #94  
Old Posted Sep 10, 2008, 9:09 PM
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ugh..... that's just what this sub-par project needs; more disappointments.
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  #95  
Old Posted Sep 11, 2008, 12:02 AM
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  #96  
Old Posted Sep 11, 2008, 3:29 AM
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yup. I'm just calling a spade a spade. Auburn feels they can get away with this design, planning, etc. because 1) this isn't the GTA where expectation is high, and 2) this is what they've done in London, and will continue to do until the market they are operating in forces them to do otherwise.

It's shoddy design layout and we as residents live with it in the end. I hate this attitude that is so prevalent here that says, "Oh well, it's not that bad... let's just live with it and look for the positives."
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  #97  
Old Posted Sep 11, 2008, 3:31 AM
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Originally Posted by onishenko View Post
yup. I'm just calling a spade a spade. Auburn feels they can get away with this design, planning, etc. because 1) this isn't the GTA where expectation is high, and 2) this is what they've done in London, and will continue to do until the market they are operating in forces them to do otherwise.

It's shoddy design layout and we as residents live with it in the end. I hate this attitude that is so prevalent here that says, "Oh well, it's not that bad... let's just live with it and look for the positives."
Agreed! 100%
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  #98  
Old Posted Sep 11, 2008, 3:41 AM
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I don't know what's wrong with you guys, nothing excites me quite like getting as many buildings with red brick in the base, that expand up into 2 shades of off-white as we can. This is innovative stuff we can look forward to here, people - 2 whole shades in one tower!
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  #99  
Old Posted Sep 11, 2008, 3:50 AM
DHLawrence DHLawrence is offline
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Just because it's built with questionable design standards doesn't mean it can't be changed later. Stucco can be replaced with brick, glass can be removed and replaced. Think of it as a work in progress. And who knows; when it's actually built, it may not look that bad.
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  #100  
Old Posted Sep 11, 2008, 2:16 PM
WatGuy WatGuy is offline
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Get it Right the First Time

I think these buildings are close enough to the uptown that design matters. In fact, at this height, it matters wherever they are in Waterloo. How many times have you winced at the sight of the Columbia tower condo (at Columbia/King) from several kilometers away?

As for the "give Auburn a chance, it might not be that bad" attitude...I have driven by their premier development in London and it scares me that this would come to Waterloo. A few glass balconies and setbacks won't pretty up these proposed pigs. (Actually, that was mean toward pigs. Sorry, pigs.).

Here is Auburn's next step:

"They have to go to Site Plan Approval stage which has the urban design guidelines that govern some of these things"

If there is any influence point, other than the public awareness campaign that should be pursued in the Chronicle and Record (people don't know about this impending catastrophe), I suppose the Site Plan Approval stage would be it, as weak as it may be.

Start lobbying.
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