Vision and redevelopment policies for Queen Street Fall 2000

The Vision

The Vision is to create a central organizational hub that allows CAMH to draw on its interdisciplinary strengths in order to pursue a client-centred philosophy within an improved and healthy physical setting. The hub will:

provide a healthy environment to promote healing;
enhance the ability of clients to access care;-- be a place that balances a continuing commitment to the care of those most in need with the provision of services to a broader community;
provide the setting for a collaborative, interdisciplinary approach to prevention, care, education and research, which enhances the ability to serve clients; and,
help eliminate the stigmas associated with mental health, addiction and the Queen Street site.

The Vision is a set of policies and guiding principles for the redevelopment of the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health's Queen Street site. The policies reflect CAMH's Mission and Core Values. They were developed with input from a wide range of stakeholders and provide the basis for creating a master plan for the site.

The Objectives

The Vision is based on three master planning objectives.

1. Create a Hub on the Queen Street Site

The Queen Street site will be the organizational hub of CAMH. It will be designed to facilitate interaction and collaboration amongst the main organizational components of client care, prevention, education and research. The hub will be linked to a network of community-based programs in satellite locations. Related programs and education and research facilities will be located at the hub in order to establish it as a multi-purpose health care, education and research village.

2. Design the Queen Street Hub as an Urban Village

The institutional stigma related to the Queen Street site will be replaced with a real community setting for client care. Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care guidelines note that health-promoting spaces require a normalization of activities within a village environment. The hub will be designed with a pattern of buildings, streets, sidewalks and open spaces that integrate with the surrounding neighbourhood and create an urban village. It will contain a mix of uses and activities, creating a safe, comfortable and welcoming place.

3. Respect the Landscape on the Queen Street Site

The existing landscape is a significant resource. It will be maintained and improved to create a high-quality, client-centred and health-promoting environment. The landscape features will have many functions, including: private healing spaces for clients; public open spaces and activity areas to integrate with the surrounding community; and, attractive public amenities along the streets and sidewalks.

The Policies

1. Create a Hub on the Queen Street Site

A Central Hub

1.1 The Queen Street site will be redeveloped as the organizational hub for CAMH.

a. The hub will represent all parts of the organization and contain key central functions and programs.

b. The Functional Program will determine which functions and programs are to be located at the hub.

A Network of Satellite Facilities

1.2 The hub will be the central focus for a linked network of satellite facilities.

a. A variety of community-based programs and services will be provided throughout CAMH's service areas in order to provide access to care as close as possible to where clients live.

b. The Functional Program will determine which programs are to be located at satellite facilities.

Client Care

1.3 The hub will offer residential, in-patient and out-patient care.
a. All in-patient beds will be located at the hub.

b. The hub will offer community-based out-patient services for people living in the surrounding area.

c. The hub will offer specialized regional out-patient services requiring resources and expertise found only at the hub.

Law and Mental Health

1.4 The hub will contain the Law and Mental Health (forensic) program.

a. Facilities should be planned and designed to ensure client and community safety while maintaining the ability to create an urban village.

b. The Functional Program will determine the appropriate size for the program on this site.

A Health Care Education and Research Village

1.5 The design of the hub will facilitate convenient interaction and communication between the areas of client care, prevention, education and research.

a. Communal gathering spaces will be provided.

b. Convenient connections between buildings will be provided.

Research

1.6 The hub will contain the research activities of CAMH.

a. Necessary facilities and technologies to promote excellence in research will be located at the hub.

b. A new Positron Emission Tomography Centre should be established at the hub as a key part of the research program.

c. Public-private partnerships should be located at the hub to increase its role as an incubator for knowledge and innovation.

Education

1.7 The hub will contain various teaching, education and training programs in conjunction with universities and colleges.

a. The hub will be the home of the University of Toronto Department of Psychiatry.

b. The hub should provide spaces for universities and colleges that offer programs related to CAMH.

An Important Land Resource

1.8 The hub's land base will be maintained in the ownership of CAMH in order to ensure space and flexibility remain to meet future health care needs.

a. No portion of the Queen Street site should be sold.

b. Long-term leases could be considered where these meet the goals of the Vision and the Master Plan.

2. Design the Queen Street Hub as an Urban Village

A Safe and Inviting Place

1.1 The hub will be made safe by making it inviting to the public, in order to provide eyes on the street.

a. Activities and spaces that bring the community onto the site will be incorporated into the Master Plan.

b. Buildings should have active public uses at grade level.

New Public Streets

1.1 New public streets will be created to open up and better connect the site to the City.

a. There should be streets of different types and character.

b. Opportunities to bring public transit into the site will be sought.

A Community Setting

1.1 The hub will be designed to create a community setting and reduce institutional stigma.

a. The hub will contain various places with distinct identities.

b. Each building or place will be identified with its own street address.

A Mix of Uses

1.1 The hub will include a variety of uses to create an active village setting and promote interaction.

a. The hub should contain offices, laboratories, retail spaces, art galleries, restaurants, cafes, community facilities, and parks and open spaces.

b. Client and survivor-run businesses should be among the mix of uses.

Housing

1.1 The hub could contain a limited amount of residential-type facilities in order to increase the mix of uses and reduce institutional stigma.

a. Housing types could include student residences and transitional housing related to CAMH programs.

b. A mix of rental housing, on leased land, could be considered where it fits with the goals of the Vision and Master Plan.

Queen and Shaw Streets

1.1 The hub will provide an improved environment along the existing street frontages of Queen and Shaw, balancing active frontage for new buildings and green open spaces.

a. Queen Street is one of the city's most important "main" streets and the hub should contribute to its activity and vitality.

b. Shaw Street should be made safer through new building layouts and by encouraging public activities.

Flexible Buildings

1.1 New buildings will be flexible and able to meet changing health-care needs.

a. New buildings should not be purpose-built for specific programs.

b. New buildings should be modest, practical and adaptable in order to meet changing needs over time.

c. New buildings should be accessible and welcoming to people with disabilities.

Shared Community and Recreational Facilities

1.1 Community and recreational facilities will be open to and shared with the neighbourhood.

a. Facilities should be located and designed so as to accommodate neighbourhood use.

b. Spaces could be provided to accommodate City, community or non-profit facilities.

3. Respect the Landscape on the Queen Street Site

Variety of Open Spaces

1.1 The hub will contain a mix of types and sizes of open spaces in order to provide a variety of environments for different people, purposes and events.

a. Land will be reserved for private client healing spaces such as private courtyards.

b. The hub will include public open spaces that attract neighbours and create a shared community resource.

c. A water feature should be incorporated into the site.

The Trees

1.1 The hub will be planned and designed in a way that maintains its role as an important part of the city's urban forest.

a. Development should remove as few mature trees as possible.

b. The healthiest trees should be protected to the greatest extent possible.

c. A long-term planting program to ensure a healthy mix of trees should be established.

The Wall

1.2 The wall is an important part of the site's heritage and should be respectfully incorporated into new development, and modified where necessary.

a. Changes should be contemplated where they help create a safer and more inviting overall development.

b. Changes should be contemplated where they create better connections to the surrounding community (e.g., Joseph Workman Park).

c. Along Shaw Street, the wall should be mostly removed; however, it should be creatively evaluated so that a fitting historical acknowledgement of it is made, including the reuse of the materials.

Eliminate Surface Parking

1.3 Existing surface parking lots will be reused to create attractive and healing spaces.

a. Surface parking should be eliminated to the greatest extent possible.

b. Adequate parking should be dispersed throughout the site in parking garages, decks and metered on-street spaces.

A Park at Queen and Shaw

1.4 The large open space at Queen and Shaw will remain as a publicly accessible park.

a. The park should function as an important gateway between the community and the hub.

b. The park should be designed as a safe place that encourages community use.

Vision and redevelopment policies for Queen Street Fall 2000

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