Item - 2024.TE15.29

The Toronto and East York Community Council recommends that:

1. City Council authorize for purposes of construction at 1 Bloor Street West the temporary closure to vehicular traffic of a five-metre-wide portion of the northbound curb lane on Balmuto Street, between a point 29 metres south of Bloor Street West and a point 12 metres further south, from August 1, 2024 to February 1, 2026 inclusive.

2. City Council authorize for purposes of concrete pouring at 1 Bloor Street West, the intermittent temporary closure to vehicular traffic of Balmuto Street, from the first public lane south of Bloor Street West to Bloor Street West, from August 1, 2024 to February 1, 2026 inclusive.

3. City Council direct the applicant to continue posting a 24-hour monitored construction hotline number on the hoarding board, which must be prominently placed and legible from 20 metres and on all elevations from the construction site.

4. City Council direct the applicant to continue providing and installing public art, including mural artwork, onto every elevation of the hoarding board with adequate spotlighting for night-time illumination, at their sole cost, to the satisfaction of the Ward Councillor.

5. City Council direct the applicant to continue sweeping the construction site daily and nightly, or more frequently as needed to be cleared of any construction debris and made safe.

6. City Council direct the applicant to continue pressure washing the construction site and adjacent sidewalks and roadways weekly, or more frequently as needed to be cleared of any construction debris and made safe.

7. City Council direct the applicant to continue ensuring that the existing sidewalks or the proposed pedestrian walkway have proper lighting to ensure safety and visibility at all times of the day and night.

8. City Council direct the applicant to continue consulting and communicating all construction, parking and road occupancy impacts with local Business Improvement Areas and resident associations in advance of any physical road modifications.

9. City Council direct the applicant to provide a sufficient number of traffic control persons as determined by the Work Zone Traffic Coordinator and the Toronto Police Construction Liaison Officer, on a daily basis to control construction vehicle access and egress to and from the site and maintain a safe environment for the public.

10. City Council direct the applicant to provide a sufficient number of pay-duty Police Officers as determined by the Work Zone Traffic Coordinator and the Toronto Police Construction Liaison Officer during large scale concrete pours and large scale material deliveries to control vehicle access and egress to and from the site and maintain a safe environment for the public.

11. City Council direct the applicant to continue installing appropriate signage and converging mirrors to ensure that pedestrians, cyclists and motorists safety is considered at all times.

12. City Council direct that Balmuto Street, Bloor Street West and Yonge Street be returned to their pre-construction traffic regulations and lane configurations when the project is completed.

13. City Council authorize the General Manager, Transportation Services, to issue a Temporary Street Occupation permit to Alvarez and Marsal Canada Inc., Court – Appointed Receiver for Mizrahi Development Group (The One) Inc. for the period of August 1, 2024 to February 1, 2026, inclusive, for a portion of Balmuto Street, from a point 29 metres south of Bloor Street West and a point 12 metres further south, without Alvarez and Marsal Canada Inc., Court – Appointed Receiver for Mizrahi Development Group (The One) having to comply with certain requirements of the City of Toronto Municipal Code Chapter 743, Streets and Sidewalks, as more generally described in the report from the Director, Traffic Management, Transportation Services (dated February 20, 2024) and, where the approval conflicts with Chapter 743, Streets and Sidewalks, Use of, the approval of the General Manager, Transportation Services shall prevail to the extent of the conflict.

14. City Council authorize the General Manager, Transportation Services, to transfer and/or assign the Temporary Street Occupancy Permit for Balmuto Street in the event that a new party acquires or becomes responsible for the Mizrahi Project during the requested construction staging area time extension request from August 1, 2024 to February 1, 2026.

15. City Council direct the applicant to continue ensuring adequate winter maintenance of all the areas that are not accessible by the City of Toronto Contracted Services, within the affected area designated on the construction management plan.

16. City Council direct the applicant to continue visually improving the pumping station fence by providing and installing public art, in a manner that does not block sightlines for vehicles exiting the laneway.

17. City Council direct the applicant to continue only placing additional bollards and traffic signage on the street fifteen minutes prior to operating the pump; to removing them within fifteen minutes of discontinuing use of the pump; and to not placing them in legal parking areas.

18. City Council direct the applicant to cooperate with and provide all necessary assistance to City Engineers, staff and representatives carrying out operation, maintenance and construction activities to municipal infrastructure within the vicinity of the construction staging area, and at no cost to the City to remove any staging to accommodate the necessary municipal infrastructure work.

19. City Council direct the applicant to continue ensuring that cement trucks and other construction vehicles and equipment do not queue or park on Balmuto Street, and that they do not block access for service vehicles accessing the properties at 21 and 35 Balmuto Street, except during concrete pouring operations.

20. City Council authorize the General Manager, Transportation Services to transfer and/or assign existing indemnity agreements with Mizrahi Development Group (The One) Inc. or its Court-appointed Receiver and/or negotiate, enter into and execute further indemnity agreement(s) to address the City's interests with respect to any and all temporary street occupations and closures on Balmuto Street, on terms and conditions satisfactory to the General Manager, Transportation Services, and in a form satisfactory to the City Solicitor.

21. City Council authorize the General Manager, Transportation Services to require the applicant to provide financial security in a form and amount satisfactory to the General Manager, Transportation Services, as a condition of granting the above permits.

22. City Council direct that Parts 1 to 19, inclusive, above, be subject to Mizrahi Development Group (The One) Inc. its Court-appointed Receiver, and/or a transferee or assignee of the permits entering into such indemnity agreements and/or providing security as may be required by the General Manager, Transportation Services pursuant to Parts 20 to 22 above.  

As the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) operates a transit service on Yonge Street and Bloor Street West, City Council approval of this report is required. Further, since this report contains recommendations that do not comply with City policy or by-laws, City Council approval of this report is required. Mizrahi Development Group (The One) Inc. (the "developer") is currently the owner of a mixed-use development at 1 Bloor Street West (Mizrahi Project). The site is located on the southwest corner of Yonge Street and Bloor Street West. The development will consist of an eight-storey high retail podium and an 86-storey high residential tower.

A five-metre-wide portion of the northbound curb lane on Balmuto Street from a point 29 metres south of Bloor Street West to a point 12 metres further south is currently closed to accommodate construction staging operations for the development. The west sidewalk and a three-metre-wide portion of the southbound curb lane on Yonge Street, between Bloor Street West and a point 66 metres south are also closed. The previous closure of the south sidewalk and a 1.2-metre-wide portion of the eastbound curb lane on Bloor Street West, between Yonge Street and a point 49 metres west, is no longer required. Pedestrians have access to the existing sidewalk on the south side of Bloor Street West, abutting the construction site, which is covered and protected. Existing vehicle and bicycle lanes are maintained for both directions on Bloor Street West.

Toronto and East York Community Council, at its meeting on November 25 and 26, 2020, approved the construction staging area on Balmuto Street from November 30, 2020 to November 30, 2022. In a separate meeting on March 10, 2021, Toronto and East York Community Council approved an extension of the construction staging areas on Yonge Street and Bloor Street West from September 1, 2020 to December 31, 2021. In a meeting on December 14 and 15, 2022, City Council approved an extension of the construction staging areas on Yonge Street, Bloor Street West and Balmuto Street, from December 14, 2022 to March 31, 2023. At the time, the developer indicated they would require the staging areas until June 30, 2025.

At its meeting on March 29, 2023, City Council approved an extension of the construction staging areas on Yonge Street, and Bloor Street West, from April 1, 2023 to June 30, 2025, and for Balmuto Street an extension was approved for only one year from April 1, 2023 to April 1, 2024. At the time of the meeting on March 29, 2023, the developer indicated they would require the staging area on Balmuto Street until June 30, 2025.

The applicant applied for another time extension of the construction staging area permit on Balmuto Street and at its meeting on March 20 and 21, 2024, the Toronto and East York Community Council approved an extension for a four month period, from April 2, 2024 to July 31, 2024. At the time of the meeting the developer indicated they would require the staging area on Balmuto Street until August 31, 2025. The developer now requires a further permit for the duration of the construction staging on Balmuto Street, to allow for the construction of the development to be completed.

Transportation Services is requesting authorization to extend the duration of the construction staging area on Balmuto Street, between the first public lane south of Bloor Street West to Bloor Street West to allow for intermittent closures of the street during concrete pouring operations, for an additional 18 months from August 1, 2024 to February 1, 2026.

For the maintenance of the concrete pump on Balmuto Street, Transportation Services is also requesting the authority for the General Manager of Transportation Services to issue a Temporary Street Occupation permit for Balmuto Street to the developer, notwithstanding that not all the criteria within the City of Toronto Municipal Code Chapter 743, Streets and Sidewalks, Use of, for so doing would be met.

In addition, Transportation Services is requesting authority to transfer the ownership of the Temporary Street Occupancy Permit for Balmuto Street in the event that the development and property is acquired by a new owner during the requested construction staging area times extension period from August 1, 2024 to February 1, 2026. The developer is currently the subject of Court-supervised Receivership proceedings, and the property may be the subject of a Court-supervised sale during this period. 

The issuance or transfer of the permit is contingent on the applicant providing an indemnity and security satisfactory to the General Manager, Transportation Services and the City Solicitor. Transportation Services is also requesting authority to transfer indemnity agreement(s) to a new owner, subject to the ongoing court proceedings.