BOLTON MILLS RIVERFRONT DEVELOPMENT

Located in a tree-filled valley along Highway 50 and dispersed in and around the Humber River, is the Village of Bolton, a rural community in the Town of Caledon, 50 km (31 miles) northwest of Toronto, Ontario.

Its downtown commercial core, centered around the intersection of Queen Street (north/south) and King Street (east/west), is an eclectic mix of two-storey turn-of-the-century brick main street architecture – many facades having been modified with newer stucco finishes – along with two and three-storey contemporary brick buildings from the 1970s. West of this intersection and primarily on the south side of King Street West can be found many fine examples of two-storey, turn-of-the-century brick houses.

Just east of Bolton’s downtown core, are three parallel streets, stretching north from King Street East to the Humber River: Chapel Street, Elm Street and Mill Street. Adjacent to each of these streets and in some cases between them, are three properties perfectly suited for higher density housing. Interestingly, each of the three sites are zoned differently from one another, requiring the new multi-residential buildings to respond accordingly, while demanding that they share aesthetic features for reasons of scale, rhythm and architectural continuity.

Further, with Bolton being set in a valley, design steps had to be taken to address potential flooding from the nearby river, as public safety and property damage became obvious concerns.

Three Sites

Site A
On the northeast side of King Street East and Mill Street, running north towards the Humber River, is an L-shaped site with two separate and distinct zoning requirements, categorized as Site A. A house presently stands on its northernmost point, but over time, it is hoped that this dwelling will be purchased and absorbed into a Phase 2 of this residential development.

As the width of this site appears to be more than ample, zoning allowed for wood-framed, three-storey townhouses along Mill Street and “live/work” townhouses facing King Street East, complete with semi-private front terraces, backyard decks and fully fit-out roof gardens, offering extended views across Bolton’s valley.

To protect from potential flood damage, we placed these townhouses and live/work townhouses on raised poured-in-place concrete basements 1.06 metres (3’-5 3/4”) above grade, with parking space for two cars below. It is important to note that the 500-year storm event – cited in a Flood Risk Assessment Report conducted for the local area – predicts Bolton could flood by as much as 1.0 metre (3’ – 3 1/4”) of water in some locations.

Access to these partially sunken garages is via an adjacent two-way drive aisle, placed just beyond the backyard decks. These drive aisles are entered and exited from a driving ramp off King Street East, using a simple “right-turn-in”, “right-turn-out” traffic design methodology. If Bolton’s valley were to flood, moisture detectors strategically located in each garage would notify condominium management that the implementation of flood prevention measures is imminent. With that, flood protection walls, consisting of interlocking double tongue & groove Douglas Fir boards, placed between fixed steel channels, would be quickly erected, mitigating flood water from entering the basement. The inevitable small amount of water, which would leak its way into the basement, would be collected and pumped out.

With flood prevention measures in place and flood water flowing freely, the townhouses would remain safely elevated, protected from any form of water damage.

Site B
Encompassing the northern half of the block, defined by Elm and Mill Streets and located just south of the Humber River is a rectangular site, allowing up to 1.5x lot coverage (as per the Official Plan), categorized as Site B.

Although the width of this site appears to be as wide as Site A, facades must face onto both Elm and Mill Streets, to create the right architectural “street character”. With this understanding, zoning allowed for wood-framed, three-storey stacked “back-to-back” townhouses, complete with semi-private front terraces and roof gardens, once again offering long views across Bolton’s valley. These dwellings, while programmatically different, would be similar in both material and scale, to the townhouses and live/work townhouses on Site A, directly across the street.

Like Site A, we placed these stacked back-to-back townhouses on a raised poured-in-place concrete basement to protect against flooding. However, for this site, the basement consists of a two-storey below grade parking structure, designed to accommodate all the required car parking and garbage disposal requirements, and accessed from descending vehicle ramps.

Like Site A, similar flood prevention measures have been incorporated into this site, rendering this residential block safe and free from the dangerous effects of fast-flowing flood water.

Site C
Encompassing the northern third of the block, defined by Chapel and Elm Streets and located just south of the Humber River, is a square site with a “general commercial” zoning, allowing up to 3.0x lot coverage (as per the Official Plan), categorized as Site C.

With the width and depth of this third site proving to be ample, zoning allowed for a six-storey multi-residential apartment building (condominium or rental). This apartment building’s structure is designed as a poured-in-place concrete frame, with steel stud walls, set on top of a poured-in-place raised concrete basement, one metre (3’- 3 1/4”) above grade for the same flooding concerns as the previous site developments.

Like the stacked back-to-back townhouses on Site B, this apartment building would also incorporate an underground parking garage, which in this instance, would be three storeys deep.

Further, like the other sites, flood prevention measures are incorporated throughout this site, rendering Site C safe and capable of dealing with the negative effects of flooding.

Interpretive Park
Lastly, it is worth mentioning our Master Plan concept for the small, triangular-shaped parkette north of Site B on Mill Street (east/west), which is owned by the Town of Caledon and outside the scope of this commission. This remnant piece of property next to the Humber River presently consists of nothing more than a mound of grass and a cluster of trees, giving little reason for anyone to stop and enjoy it. However, an Archives of Ontario plaque erected there reveals the parkette holds historical significance. The plaque speaks to the founding of Bolton, that began as a settlement called “Bolton Mills”, which by 1850 had grown to include a sawmill, stores, a woolen factory, a tannery and a blacksmith’s shop.

Understanding this, we have proposed the creation of an “interpretive park” to be built upon these historically significant grounds. Specifically, we envision erecting a series of parallel “walls” much like remnant building foundations, which would relate to the original businesses of 1850. These walls would be made from materials that represent the original buildings of Bolton Mills: wood (= sawmill); copper (= stores/money); fabric (= woolen factory); leather-coloured fiberglass (= tannery); metal (= blacksmith). We would suggest the designs for five walls to be created by local artists through a series of competitions – one competition for each wall.

Further, an opportunity may even present itself to the Town of Caledon in the future, to extend the parkette west, should the current, privately owned buildings along the Humber River cease to be of use.

In all, this new parkette would not only enhance the view of those facing north from Sites B and C, it would inevitably become a small but beautiful local resting spot, drawing people from the neighbourhood with its artistic interpretive walls. This sculptural riverfront feature would undoubtedly invite people to stop, rest and read the historic plaque – which would be re-located to a more prominent place within the parkette – and learn a little bit about the historic village of Bolton Mills.

Note: For Bolton Mills Riverfront Development buildings write-up, statistics, materials and general program, see Multi-Residential Portfolio – Bolton Mills Riverfront Development.

LOCATION: Bolton, Ontario

ARCHITECT: LINEVISION Architects

DESIGN LEADERSHIP: Michael Poitras,
Principal-in-Charge of Design

CLIENT: The Cancian Group