urban design brief - city of guelph · urban design brief | 120-122 huron street 13 gsp group | aba...

Urban Design Brief

120-122 Huron Street

120 Huron GP Inc.

City of Guelph

Zoning By-law Amendment

November 2017

Contents

1. Background ..................................................................... 2

2. Contextual Analysis ....................................................... 5

Location and Site Attributes.............................................. 5

Neighbourhood Context .................................................... 7

Design Policy Context .................................................... 10

3. Design Goals and Objectives ...................................... 11

4. Response to Policy Context ........................................ 12

Sustainable Urban Design (Section 8.1) ........................ 12

Public Realm (Section 8.2) ............................................. 12

Built Form (Section 8.6) .................................................. 13

Transition of Land Uses (Section 8.11) .......................... 18

Parking (Section 8.12) .................................................... 18

Access, Circulation, Loading, Storage (Section 8.13) .... 19

Landscaping (Section 8.17) ............................................ 20

Signage (Section 8.14) ................................................... 21

Lighting (Section 8.16) .................................................... 21

Safety (Section 8.18) ...................................................... 21

Public Art (Section 8.21) ................................................. 21

5. Conclusion ……………………………………………………23

Urban Design Brief | 120-122 Huron Street 2 GSP Group | ABA Architects | November 2017

1. Background

120 Huron GP Inc. is proposing to redevelop the property

municipally known as 120-122 Huron Road in the City of Guelph

(the “Site”). The redevelopment would re-purpose an existing

building as an apartment building and would add 9 townhouse

blocks on the balance of the Site, for a total of 182 units and 232

parking spaces (the “Proposed Development”).

A Zoning By-law Amendment (the “ZBA”) is required to permit the

proposed development. The proposed ZBA would rezone the site

from Specialized Industrial (B.4-1) to General Apartment (R.4A) with

site-specific regulations to permit Apartments, Stacked

Townhouses, and Cluster Townhouses, along with site-specific

performance criteria. An Urban Design Brief was identified as a

requirement for a complete application at the pre-consultation

meeting held on July 12, 2017 with the City of Guelph and

commenting agencies.

The Proposed Master Site Plan and 3D perspective are illustrated

on the following pages.

This Urban Design Brief:

o outlines the existing physical conditions of the Site and the

surrounding urban area, as well as the applicable design-

related policies affecting the site (Section 2);

o outlines the design goals and objectives for the site that have

guided the site and building design (Section 3); and,

o assesses the design response to the applicable design-

related policies for the site and describes how the proposed

development responds to this direction (Section 4).


The proposed Site Master Plan.


Perspective view of the site’s layout and building design looking from the northwest.


2. Contextual Analysis

Location and Site Attributes

The Site is a brownfield located in the south-east corner of Huron

Street and Alice Street in the City of Guelph. The site is 2.5 hectares

(6.1 acres) in area and has approximately 117 metres of frontage

along Alice Street and 204 metres of frontage along Huron Road.

The Site was historically used as a chemical manufacturing

company and quarry. There are four existing buildings on the Site.

The principal building is a four-storey former daylight factory (circa

1919) constructed of reinforced concrete with brick spandrels. That

building is on the City of Guelph’s Heritage Register and is

proposed to be preserved and adaptively reused as an apartment

building. The other buildings include a brick power house set back

from Alice Street, a metal-sided single-storey shed, and a brick

office/laboratory building fronting on Huron Street. These buildings

are proposed to be demolished to make way for remediation of the

Site.

The northern portion of the Site has a combination of sod, gravel

parking and service access areas. The southern portion of the Site

has a vegetated area with deciduous trees and shrubs. There are

scattered shrubs and trees along the eastern edge of the Site. In

terms of topography, the Site is generally flat.

Image: Location of subject site recognizing the current build-out and

urban form of the surrounding area.


Above: Former access and vegetated area at the southern portion of

the Site, on Huron Street

Above: The corner of Huron and Alice, and the 4-storey formerly

industrial building

Above: Other buildings present on the Site along Huron Street

Above: Rear portion of 4-storey building


Neighbourhood Context

The Site is located within an older neighbourhood east of Downtown

Guelph, and is surrounded by residential uses and supporting

community uses. The surrounding residential form predominately

consists of single-detached dwellings, but there are low-rise

apartment buildings nearby and amenities including schools,

churches, and a community garden. A spur line that connects to the

CN Railway abuts the east side of the Site and extends to the south

to service the Corning Canada manufacturing plant. Corning’s

employee parking is in the lot to the immediate south of the Site. A

vacant block that is serviced for a townhouse development is beside

the employee parking lot, at the intersection of Morris Street and

York Road. Lyon Park is within a 5 minute walk of the Site, located

on York Road.

Above: The streetscape along Alice Street near the Site Above: The Site’s location in relation to Downtown Guelph (top).

The streetscape along Huron Street near the Site (bottom)


The site’s immediately abutting context includes the following:

North: a series of 2-storey residential properties, including

single detached, semi-detached and multi-unit properties, as well

as the Sacred Heart Church at the northwest corner of Alice and

Huron.

West: A mix of 1 and 2-storey residential properties, one vacant

lot (proposed to be rezoned for park uses) and a community

garden.


South: A surface parking lot. East: A spur line that connects to CN railway.

The site’s contextual attributes do not present any significant design

challenges or constraints for the proposed development, as there

are no new buildings proposed taller than 3 storeys. The presence

of the railway to the east of the Site presents a minor constraint,

resolved by the provision of the appropriate 15 metre setback.

Above: The community garden located west of the Site, on Huron Street


Design Policy Context

The site is designated “Mixed Office/Commercial” in the Guelph

Official Plan. This designation permits a range of commercial and

office uses as well as multiple unit residential buildings including

townhouses and apartments. The OP permits a maximum building

height of 4 storeys. The apartment building is proposed to be

located within a heritage building that has been identified in the

Municipal Register of Cultural Heritage Properties. As such, the

Cultural Heritage Resource Policies of Section 4.8.1 apply to the

development. These polices require conservation and maintenance

of built heritage resources (Policy 4.8.1.8) and notes that the City

will ensure the conservation and protection of cultural heritage when

considering site alteration (Policy 4.8.1.12).

Section 8 of Official Plan, as amended by OPA 48, provides urban

design policy direction for new developments. which includes the

following relevant topics:

o Sustainable Urban Design (Section 8.1);

o Public Realm (Section 8.2);

o Built Form (Sections 8.6 to 8.8);

o Transition of Land Use (Section 8.11);

o Parking (Section 8.12);

o Access, Circulation, Loading and Storage (Section 8.13);

o Signage (Section 8.14);

o Lighting (Section 8.16);

o Landscaping (Section 8.17);

o Safety (Section 8.18); and,

o Public Art (Section 8.21).


3. Design Goals and Objectives

The design objectives for the Site are to:

1. Preserve and adaptively reuse a former

industrial building by renovating and

converting it into high quality living spaces.

2. Facilitate a compact urban form that fits with

the prevailing and planned lower rise intent

for the neighbourhood.

3. Orient stacked townhouse blocks toward

Huron Street to frame the street with an

architectural rhythm and frequency that

provides interest and human scale to the

pedestrian realm.

4. Incorporate residential building entrances

that are directly connected to public

sidewalks on the bounding public streets.

5. Accentuate the corner of Huron and Alice

through a combination of built form presence,

landscape treatments, and entrances to

emphasize the corner location.

6. Implement architectural design features that

contribute to the established community

character while providing variation in design.

7. Design parking areas in a manner that

contributes to an attractive streetscape by

providing screening from the public views

through landscaping efforts.

Aerial view of the site and building design

looking from the north.


4. Response to Policy Context

This section outlines how the proposed design of the development

responds to the relevant policy themes of Section 8 of the Guelph

Official Plan.

Sustainable Urban Design (Section 8.1)

The proposed development provides a compact urban

intensification on a brownfield industrial site in the St. Patrick’s Ward

neighbourhood. The Site is located approximately 1 kilometre from

Downtown Guelph (a 12-minute walk), and it has easy access to the

broader community with nearby transit stops, which will provide

residents with alternative transportation options and opportunities

for car-free or car-reduced lifestyles. While LEED certification is not

being pursued, site and building conservation measures contributing

towards the City’s Community Energy Initiative will be implemented

through detailed design, which will include dwellings that are

equipped with low flush toilets, low flow faucets and showerheads;

and incorporation of low VOC-emitting materials. LED fixtures will

be prioritized for indoor and outdoor lighting. Site lighting will have

automated controls that turn off with sufficient natural lighting, and

street trees will be planted where space permits to help create a

cooler microclimate. Landscape planting will be focused on species

that are native, hardy, and low maintenance.

Public Realm (Section 8.2)

The form of the 4-storey former industrial building is appropriately

human-scaled and provides a continuous street wall along the Alice

Street frontage. The pedestrian experience is enhanced with the

addition of the stacked townhouse blocks along Huron Street. Each

of these townhouse units include street-facing accesses as well as

at-grade covered spaces that provide interaction to the internal

street, together with balconies for upper storey units. The

combination of façade projections/recessions together with variation

in the use of colours and materials strives to ensure a dynamic wall

elevation that provides visual interest along Huron Street. Street

edge landscape treatment features along Huron Street and Alice

Street will establish a regular pattern of plantings lining the buildings

to soften the space for comfortable pedestrian use.

Street level interface enhanced through a combination of architectural treatment and outdoor space


Built Form (Sections 8.6 to 8.8)

Massing and Form

The existing building is positioned at the corner of Alice Street and

Huron Street, along the Alice Street frontage, with a setback of 2.0

metres from Alice and 10.6 metres from Huron. The length of the

building is 79.2 metres along Alice Street. The overall shape and

mass of the building is not expected to be modified significantly from

its original form. However, there will be additions to the façade such

as recessed balconies and visually enhancements through

architectural treatments and variation. The setback along Huron

Street provides opportunities for a landscaped corner and entrance,

as well as the addition of a new concrete sidewalk along this

frontage.

The existing building as it stands

does not fit within the 45-degree

angular plane from the centreline of

Alice Street. Given the as-built

nature of the existing building to be

adaptively re-used, this angular

plane condition cannot be changed.

The stacked townhouse units along

Huron fit the 45-degree angular

plane. Angular plane diagrams are

included on the following page.

Below: A view of the apartment building mass lining the Alice Street frontage of the site.


Above: the apartment building’s angular plane from Alice Street (left) and stacked townhouses from Huron Street (right)


Architectural Treatment

For the adaptive re-use, all four building elevations are designed

with a unifying architecture treatment that modestly enhances and

renovates the existing structure. Roof-top equipment will be

situated, and screened where necessary, to minimize views from

the abutting public streets at the time of detailed design. The

preliminary architectural design for the building includes the key

architectural elements on the below graphic.

Alternating arrangement of balconies (recessed, semi-recessed, open)

Details that complement the heritage industrial architecture of the building

Canopies that provide shelter and define main entrances to the building

Regular pattern of fenestration spacing and shapes

Use of light colours and brick coupled with building projections/recessions to break up visual mass along length

For the townhouse units, the architectural treatment will be

contemporary, with simple lines that are not overly decorated.

Windows will be spaced regularly and fenestration will be inspired

by the former industrial nature of the Site and the existing

building’s industrial vernacular. Balconies will be provided in

some elevations, as well as canopies and other detailing to

accentuate each of the facades. Sample elevations are provided

on the next page.


Materials

For the townhouse units, the preliminary elevations illustrate a

combination of darker and lighter brick for the townhouse blocks,

arranged with variation in their horizontal and vertical extent and

use. Darker railings for the balconies and window frames and doors

act as accents for the brick walls.

For the apartment building, the intent is to preserve and restore the

original materials to highlight its heritage value, or replacing them

with newer ones that follow the original design where necessary.

The elevations include red brick and solid white, as well as dark

metal accents for entrance canopies, balcony railings and

fenestration.


Transition of Land Uses (Section 8.11)

The proposed site design, building placement, and building design

provides an appropriate transition to abutting properties.

o To the north of the Site, the existing building’s form is not

changing through the redevelopment as no significant

additions are proposed to it.

o To the east, the proposed development is separated from the

railway by at least 15 metres per the applicable guidelines.

o To the south, the proposed development incorporates a

minimum 5 metre setback to the southern property line that

increases to 45 metres from east to west for the cluster

townhouses. The property to the south is currently a surface

parking lot.

o To the west, the proposed stacked townhouses are positioned

at least 4.5 metres to the property line. The adaptively reused

apartment building is approximately 10.6 away from the

property line. Landscaping and fencing along the western

edge of the Site along Huron Street, will soften the transition

to the other side of the street.

Parking (Section 8.12)

The Proposed Development includes 228 spaces in total, including

7 barrier-free parking spaces. The majority of surface parking is

positioned behind the apartment building and internal to the Site.

Parking for the townhouse units is provided within individual

garages and in driveways. Parking for the stacked townhouses is

provided as surface parking spaces located behind these blocks.

Most surface parking is located behind built form, in order to screen

such spaces from public view. The two portions where parking is

visible from the streets are not extensive, and there are areas

adjacent to them where landscaping can be provided to screen

views.

A total of 174 bicycle spaces is provided throughout the

development, adjacent to each of the townhouse blocks and the

apartment building. An internal bicycle storage room is provided on

the basement level of the apartment building for longer term

storage.


Access, Circulation, Loading, and Storage Areas (Section 8.13)

Vehicles will enter the site from either of two driveway accesses on

Huron Street, positioned at the southern edge of the Site and mid-

block aligned with Oliver Street.

Pedestrians can enter the site from either

the Huron Street or Alice Street frontages.

A walkway from the Alice Street public

sidewalk leads to the interior parking lot

and the rear of the apartment building. A

walkway leads from the Huron Street

proposed sidewalk and continues toward

the principal entrance to the building and

parking area, providing barrier-free access

to the main building entrance on the south

building wall. As well, there is a walkway

along the north side of the central amenity

space that provides a direct route from the

parking area to the main building entrance

on the west building wall. An outdoor

loading area is provided for the use of

residents at the southeast corner of the

building. The garbage storage room

areas for the apartment building is

internalized on the south side of the

building.

Some of the stacked townhouse units

have pedestrian entrances along the

Huron Street frontage, and with the

balance accessed through the internal

private roadway and parking areas. The

townhouses are accessed through

individual driveways through the interior

private roadways.

The circulation throughout the Site is efficient and organized. Pedestrian circulation is shown in pink and vehicular circulation in orange.


Landscaping (Section 8.17)

A detailed landscaping plan will be prepared as part of

the detailed design stage. As part of this landscaping

plan, it is expected that

o The Huron Street and Alice Street frontages will be

planted with a combination of street trees (where

space permits) as well as ground plantings at the

building bases to soften building edges.

o The corner of Alice Street and Huron Street will be

landscaped to complement and accentuate the

heritage industrial architecture of the apartment

building.

o Additional landscaping will be provided throughout

the development and in two large amenity areas

located at the east and south portions of the Site.

o A dry stormwater pond is proposed at the south edge

of the Site that could also be planted with certain

drought and flood tolerant species. Plantings along

the site’s shared perimeter boundaries will include

deciduous and coniferous trees as well as privacy

fencing.

o Each of the townhouse units will have a private

backyard space.

o The selection of plant material will focus on those

that are native, hardy, low maintenance, and provide

diversity of color and interest throughout the

seasons.

Detail of the coloured site plan illustrating preliminary landscaped areas.


Signage (Section 8.14)

Municipal address signage and site identification signage at the

detailed design stage will be scaled and designed to fit with the

proposed architectural character and image of the development.

Lighting (Section 8.16)

Lighting plans at the detailed design stage will address lighting

emphasis points and appropriate lighting levels. These emphasis

points include building entrances, the corner forecourt area, the

corner of Alice and Huron, the parking area, the common amenity

area, and streetscapes and walkways through the site.

Safety (Section 8.18)

The proposed development has been designed with considerations

for ensuring natural surveillance opportunities through the site’s

public areas and spaces. Open, unobstructed sightlines are

maintained with the stacked townhouse placement lining the Huron

frontage and across the site’s interior. A regular rhythm and pattern

of windows on the building elevations provide visibility to front areas

abutting Alice and rear areas in the parking area. At-grade terraces

and upper storey balconies in the apartment building and

townhouses provide additional surveillance opportunities of the

abutting public and internal private spaces of the Site. Landscape

design at the detailed design stage will balance delineating public

versus private space through plantings and landscape treatments

with the need for maintaining appropriate sight lines. Lighting plans

at the detailed design stage will provide appropriate lighting levels

for pedestrian activity areas, including building entrances, parking

areas, and outdoor spaces.

Public Art (Section 8.21)

Public art has not been explored at this point for the proposed

development. The landscaped forecourt at the corner of Huron and

Alice provides an appropriate location and sufficient space should a

public art installation be considered.


Rendered view of the adaptively reused apartment building from the corner of Huron and Alice Streets.


5. Conclusion

The Proposed Development provides a high quality of urban design

by being an infill project that adaptively reuses a former industrial

building and adds additional housing units to the Site in the form of

stacked and traditional townhouses. The compact form of the

development is compatible with its surroundings and provides an

appropriate level of intensification in proximity to transit and

Downtown Guelph.

The architectural quality of the townhouse blocks complement the

heritage industrial nature of the apartment building, creating a

cohesive, attractive development that enhances the neighbourhood

by positively impacting the public realm. With the addition of a

sidewalk along Huron, as well as having units facing the public

streets, natural surveillance is increased along internal and public

streets. Overall, the Proposed Development is an example of good

urban design.

urban design brief - city of guelph · urban design brief | 120-122 huron street 13 gsp group | aba...

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