Cranespotting

Mountain Park Avenue Condos

A new condo development will feed into the vibrancy on Concession Street.

By Trey Shaughnessy
Published September 20, 2006

So far, no rendering has been released to the public for this 12-storey condo. I asked the owner of the building and he said, "We'll have to be patient".

The Mountain Park Avenue condo development takes shape
The Mountain Park Avenue condo development takes shape

The skinny massing is taking form and the footprint occupies the entire land, which means: no surface parking lot. Well done.

This is a wonderful project that will add new customers to within a very short walking distance of the numerous shops on Concession Street.

Some area home values have doubled in the last six to seven years in the mixed-use neighbourhood, so it's no wonder an old three-storey walkup was torn down to make way for this upscale condo, just a stone throw from the Wentworth steps.

As a percentage, some area home values have skyrocketed past realized increases in the Meadowlands
As a percentage, some area home values have skyrocketed past realized increases in the Meadowlands

People who live in the neighbourhood know its many benefits: a hospital, doctors' offices, grocery stores, busses, bakery, movie theatre, library and coffee shops.

Let's hope the Ciancone family doesn't let down the area with a suburban one-floor Shoppers Drug Mart and giant parking lot. Tim Horton's has already done its damage on the west side of the strip with a typical brown box surrounded by a drive-thru queue and plenty of parking.

The entire area is walkable and pedestrian-friendly with narrow streets and calm traffic, so your customers will likely walk, making a huge parking lot unnecessary. Build to the street and blend in with the streetwall. Put parking at the back of the building and acknowledge the street and the life that is there.

The view from Wentworth and Stinson, complete with a dense canpopy
The view from Wentworth and Stinson, complete with a dense canpopy

Concession Street, looking lovely
Concession Street, looking lovely

Homes on Mountain Park Ave
Homes on Mountain Park Ave

The Wentworth steps provide easy access to lower east downtown, in an oasis of old-growth Carolinian forest
The Wentworth steps provide easy access to lower east downtown, in an oasis of old-growth Carolinian forest

Downtown viewed from the Wentworth steps
Downtown viewed from the Wentworth steps

The city didn't build a pedestrian bridge over Sherman Cut, so crossing this mountain access is the most grueling part of the 500 steps
The city didn't build a pedestrian bridge over Sherman Cut, so crossing this mountain access is the most grueling part of the 500 steps

Trey lives in Williamsville NY via Hamilton. He is a Marketing Manager for Tourism and Destination Marketing in the Buffalo-Niagara Metro.

His essays have appeared in The Energy Bulletin, Post Carbon Institute, Peak Oil Survival, and Tree Hugger.

And can't wait for the day he stops hearing "on facebook".

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By trey (registered) | Posted May 01, 2008 at 16:40:26

This building is called The Madison

themadison.info

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