Soaring 32-storey condominium towers have no place in Don Mills, angry residents told The Cadillac Fairview Corporation Limited during a public consultation meeting Tuesday night regarding a planning application for the Don Mills Centre site.

Some 500 residents attended the meeting at Spirale Banquet and Conference Centre at Don Mills Road and Eglinton Avenue to hear plans pertaining to Phase 2 of the redevelopment of the Don Mills Centre site at Don Mills Road and Lawrence Avenue, which includes residential, office and medical uses.

The application deals with the land along The Donway West portion of the site at Don Mills Road and Lawrence Avenue.

More than 1,300 dwelling units are proposed, of which 1,207 represent new construction, while 147 would be created through the conversion of the office building at 75 The Donway West, which also houses medical practices, into a seniors residence.

The proposal also includes a public park and a two-storey recreation centre.

The proposed buildings north of 75 The Donway West are designed with building heights up to 10 storeys while the proposed buildings south of 75 The Donway West, and extending to Don Mills Road, are terraced from six to 14 storeys. The highest buildings proposed are a pair of 32-storey point towers located toward the interior of the site, in the area west of the Don Mills Civitan Arena.

The project will be phased in over seven to 10 years.

"Mr. E.P. Taylor must be turning in his grave," an elderly resident said during the meeting, referring to the businessman and financier of the planned community of Don Mills. "This is not a place for 32-storey towers. It belongs up and down Yonge Street and not in Don Mills. Twelve storeys should be the absolute maximum."

Several residents expressed outrage over the height of the twin towers, while others were concerned with the loss of 75 The Donway, which many people relied on for medical services.

"Why not leave it as it is and create a seniors' residence in one of the condo buildings?" Mary Ampagoumian asked. "We've lost our covered mall, now we are losing our medical building. This is too much for us."

Anne Morash, vice-president of development for Cadillac Fairview, said it's possible medical practitioners at 75 The Donway can relocate their practices to the new development site.

Cadillac Fairview, which filed the planning application in December, has appealed the project to the Ontario Municipal Board because it has been more than six months without a decision from city council.

The corporation, which has yet to file required studies pertaining to the project, including a traffic report, is seeking to change the current zoning from commercial to mixed use.

Although an appeal to the OMB has been filed, the city is looking for residents to form a working group to attempt to work out concerns with the corporation before heading to the board. A hearing date has not been set.

"Cadillac Fairview has taken the decision out of council's hands," said Ward 25 (Don Valley West) Councillor Cliff Jenkins. "It is possible for Cadillac Fairview to continue to negotiate with city staff. It (the proposal) is not supportable in its current form."

Morash told The Mirror she anticipated most of the concerns that were expressed at the meeting.

"None of the comments came as a surprise to us," she said, adding the project is not a done deal and is subject to getting more feedback from the city.

Morash also said she welcomes the idea of a working group.

"I look forward to that part of the process," she said.

The first phase of the redevelopment project focused solely on the redevelopment of the Don Mills Centre, which was torn down last year to make way for an outdoor lifestyle centre, is set for completion in the fall of 2008.