I don't understand the design. The podium portion looks interesting (classic Douglas Cardinal) but the floral crown looks like it could easily be executed very, very poorly. It makes me nervous that this is going to be so prominent on Bay St's northern view terminus. Crossing my fingers that...

The branding looks cheap & generic and the interior design looks dated already. But their counter food is better than Loblaws or Pusateri's.

Still looks a mess. ?

I get that a big ol deconstructed mess is still all the rage in architecture... But does U of T have to jam this right in the middle of the ROM, Flavelle House, Trinity College and Falconer Hall? In my opinion (based on my personal taste) the design simply isn't good enough to obliterate the...

It's OK the rendering shows they'll be replanted & will look exactly the same (and renderings never lie).

Sounds to me like "don't blame the drug pushers for the blight of addiction - they're just responding to the greed of their kingpin! Blame the end users instead." There are many developers in Toronto who are meeting the demands of investors who employ better architects and turn out better...

Was it was from the late 60s onward, when modernism was declared to have "failed" and governments still needed make everything look as cheap and utilitarian as possible so nobody could accuse them of mismanaging public funds?

No reason to think whatever Canderel replaces this with will be any better than the hideous tin-can trash they've inflicted on Toronto already. With their track record of erecting some of Toronto's ugliest, cheapest, oversized monstrosities, they should be legally barred from further vandalizing...

Nice to see masonry elements all the way up the shaft of the tower - but the new street front addition - (including the 6-storey exposed concrete columns ) is messy & clumsy looking, imho.

That's an interesting idea re. Parks Canada. It may be the underfunding of HPS and the lack of a mandate of the Planning department to set priorities for designated buildings. If they can create, and set rules for Heritage Conservation Districts, I would think government-owned heritage buildings...

If you blur your eyes and stare into the half-distance at 6:22 pm on a partially-cloudy spring solstice, Toronto looks super amazing. I've heard you can even see Jesus giving the "thumbs up" sign in the reflection off First Canadian Place

To see an architecturally unique, publicly owned building reach the end of its life with no plan for revitalization, adaptation or repurposing is a real bureaucratic failure. Shouldn't Toronto Heritage have more control over public buildings? Where did they stand on this & why wasn't this...

Looks like the TCHC building visible in AlbertC's last photo is being renovated - wonder if there will be better retail spaces at street level?

OK - I see there are two N/S pedestrian routes planned and they can be seen in Benito's first picture, above. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/54827e32e4b01930082ab8b6/t/54c475f8e4b01ba65f5db602/1422161400154/PD+Planning+Framework.pdf

I used the map to see if there was anything on file re. the two adjacent office blocks on Bay (there isn't). They seem so dated and small in comparison to where the neighbourhood is going... Can anyone confirm if this the only place where there will be an established mid-block connection...

I thought this would be a whole new building but it looks like lipstick on a pig is what we're getting here...

Any idea who is leasing the rooftop addition? (Also, at the risk of beating a dead horse, does anyone know why downtown Toronto still only has one little, perpetually overcrowded Apple store? lol ) :/

There is fencing all around the TCHC building at Parliament & Gerrard (Block #1 of the Regent Park plan). I think they might be getting ready for the building to be demoed? Didn't have phone or camera when I was by there earlier.

Great that they are expanding the laneways in Yorkville to the rear. Also is the project next door getting a redesign? Same architect?

Ave. & St Clair is sort of coalescing as Toronto's would-be "Park Avenue"