politics
Toronto Rejects Proposal to Demolish the Hotel Waverly and the Silver Dollar Room
The developer now intends to make an appeal to the Ontario Municipal Board.
Photo by superherb, from the Torontoist Flickr pool.
Last year, the Wynn Group submitted a proposal to tear down the Silver Dollar Room and the Hotel Waverly (which we toured in 2013), and replace them with a 22-storey building that would accommodate a brand-new Silver Dollar on the ground floor, a fitness club, and 20 floors of privatized student housing.
Yesterday, the Toronto and East York Community Council rejected the plan, indicating that “the proposal in its current form is not supportable” because “it does not promote a harmonious fit with the existing neighbourhood context” at Spadina and College.
One of council’s major concerns involves the proposed building’s height, which is 70 metres—far more than the 16-metre maximum height permitted under the relevant zoning bylaw.
The future of this site remains uncertain, though: the developer has signalled he’ll be appealing council’s decision at the OMB, and word on whether 484 and 486 Spadina Avenue should be designated as heritage properties is expected from the City’s Heritage Preservation Services by spring.