I live next to these towers. While they are worse than the other projects by Pemberton in the neighbourhood, they are much better than the old Tridel buildings just south of them which don't have balconies at all.
What I don't like about the building is the coldness of it. From street level you can see the bare concrete underbelly of the balconies, and it just looks cold. The other Pemberton buildings on the east side of Yonge are brick and look cozier and warmer. The units do look small though. 650 - 800 sq ft. That's pretty small. I don't understand why they would have such large balconies for such small units. You can't really use your balcony year round. It would have been better to make larger units, but I digress.
The podium does look awful, but it will add more retail to the street. I am looking forward to see what opens there. I was hoping that the No Frills would return, but alas, it doesn't seem to be the case.
As for trees by Shoppers, they do seem dead. Seems like the city doesn't take care of this area very well. There is so much garbage around that doesn't seem to be cleaned up much.
I do like that they repaved Lorraine, Beecroft and Tolman road. Much nicer to drive on.