[GenerationLee]

I try to ignore these whenever I pass by. It's bargain bin architecture along a main street, in the centre of Leaside...it's very disappointing.

 

[Northern Light]

I kind of like the northern most black building.

The black building isn't stunning, but what makes it work, is the facade retention, which also has good scale along the street, and then the proper setback of the higher floors.

If you modified the southern building design to lower the height of the first floor and have an integrated (and better) design of that new 2-storey podium, then set the upper part back by a 3M. It would be fine.

It wouldn't have cost any extra money to fix how the height is distributed, the setback would have eaten into the building a bit, but I'd happily have approved another floor of height to partially offset that.

Improved podium architecture would have cost a bit, but not that much. Even straight up masonry would have been fine'ish.

The first floor heights are probably the City's fault, they think that's a good thing, and they're wrong. That's not to say extra height is never a good thing, but its the exception, not the rule.