They still operate in a ton of sectors of our economy, but the retail side is certainly struggling. I imagine that diversity why they’re still around and Sears isn’t. I’m sure there’s a niche for department stores to fill, heck I like going to them on occasion. But whether or not that’s in an...

I can’t really tell at this point if the city has the means to do anything, or even cares enough to move resources to do it. In any case, it would be the right thing to do, but I’d wish we had the same leverage to demand heritage retention like Toronto does.

I think that’s exactly what they’re waiting for, which is scary. I’ve heard the exact sentiment from a lot of people on the inside, which is not reassuring at all. The Gore feels like the place where the heritage should be a selling point- it’s not a random Victorian house in the podium of a...

A big, department-style retailer would certainly look very interesting and be very useful. 3-4storeys is probably the sweet spot so you can still see the gems on KW. I’d love if The Bay came back with a downtown location, but that’s a far off prospect. It would be quite symbolic though. In any...

This could be the problem- the land is probably very valuable, so if Core Urban only did 5-10 storeys, it likely wouldn’t be enough to offset the cost. In fact, that lot might be so valuable it’s why we haven’t seen a typical 30 storey proposal (if one can even fit on the parcel with separation...

I think they must. Many already are- even Barton is filling in, as I’ve said before. And there’s very few units going in around there yet; must be people just moving into the neighbourhood. Downtown especially is seeing this- retail is spurting up on streets meeting James now, and King West is...

Something tells me you couldn't have used the old factory for making soap again anyhow...

I wouldn’t discount the psychological “rail effect” either. Given the demographics of Oakville/Burlington, we might see transit uptake increase more for LRT but not much for better bus service, as these riders probably have the choice to drive. I don’t think there’s a way to confirm that though...

Oh my… another one just ignoring the height limit. Things are getting interesting.

I know someone said that the original Sheppard subway was important for relieving the number of buses using Sheppard to get to Yonge. I’m sure the full line (Sheppard W to STC) would have had ridership figures to justify it, but the stub line we got was probably the most ridership-dense section...

These battery plants are absolutely massive and any single one will bring thousands of jobs. I do question if the industry actually has a reason to locate here more going forward, or if the incentives we offered this time around were a one-trick pony.

The demographics are different in some sense, but I wouldn’t say extraordinary. Especially not for the southern half. Even just using censusmapper to look at income stats would reveal the most relevant information anyhow. I did somewhat attribute that argument to you, but moreso to bring my...

The challenge of more wealthy residents is not so much an issue on YRT's ridership itself, but the impact such wealthy (and rural) residents have on York Region's budgeting for YRT. It certainly isn't helping things, but we are discounting the pull that King, Stouffville, Aurora, etc. have on...

Knowing the OLT, I have a feeling this will get approved no problem.

New developer owns the land, so it seems like things might actually happen this time around. Too early to say, but I find it hard to believe it'll get flipped again given the state of the market- we're more in a 'line up your cards' phase for developers, I think. Great to see this plaza get...

That’s the structural core of the building, which hosts utilities and the elevators. Everything else is built off of that. This is easier to see on bigger towers in Toronto where the core is clearly in the middle of a building and everything ‘follows’ it upward. It certainly doesn’t look like a...

They seem to be going up everywhere- Toronto obviously, and I’ve seen them in Hamilton, but I’m in Waterloo right now, and while I haven’t seen any, apparently they exist! Some data on them would be great- I’m sure the numbers are growing. They seem relatively popular to build, even in this market.

To be fair, much of LSW lies in Industrial wastes. The difference is there are better locations to put station(s) on this line. Land use has not been relevant to GO until relatively recently.

It all comes down to who we’re trying to serve. Woodbine is better for Rexdale and transit connections more generally, but it is pretty far out the way of the old stations catchment. If park-and-riders were coming from the south, a station at Islington might function better by being more...

….It is up. The tallest one, which is the second, is the one being pictured mostly today. The third has not started, but its height increase was also approved.