I think the MZO densities are fairly reasonable (though, I've been sharply critical of the undemocratic approach of using an MZO in the first place.) There is a housing crisis and you can't build on 75% of the land in the city. Until they change zoning city wide, density is going to be a...

This is very well done. The mid-block connections are great and the scale seems appropriate. My only two nit picks would be that, with the ample public space in the immediate area, I don't see the need for that corner plaza. And I bet there is a way to better animate the blank facade of the...

I agree with you. Exhibition place lacks the diversity in mixed uses it needs to truly thrive as part of the city. This exacerbates that problem. This would be a huge benefit to many other communities, but here it sterilizes rather than animates.

I believe it was Del Duca who cancelled the project in the first place (for good reason imo). You make an interesting point, but there is a pretty "big tent" of opposition to this highway, so I'm not sure Vaughan would vote as a block on this issue. I personally have about 6 objections to this...

Agree, the bottom of that podium is really bad. Really toxic to any meaningful street level animation. They could just as easily drop the brick portion to the ground and it would be fine. Ideally they'd add space for 2 more retail tenants on the bottom floor too.

Building highways is an endless game of whack-a-mole. You have that right.

Agreed. Seems to me they could take the arches from floors 2-5 and bring them down to the street. it would provide a nice street wall and a natural articulation for different retail units.

Pretty good effort on the first 3 floors. I've never cared all that much about what things look like above that. It would be nice if they could find away to address the corners a bit better. It feels a little barren on the edges.

Interesting concept, especially the curved building on stilts and the way in maintains the mid-block connections, but the density is unrealistic. I agree, it seems to me you'd want to keep the atrium of the main building and put a tower where they have a park. Given the amount of public green...

While I'm not personally opposed to that sort of density near transit... I have to admit I have some sympathy for Matlow's argument. His ward has taken a lot of development pressure while other wards have single family homes sitting on an acre of property that are completely off limits to even a...

Any arrangement that increases the number of connections along Dufferin would be a plus. That section is dangerous for pedestrians and slowing down the speed of traffic and increasing the porosity is vital.

Good news! Hopefully this leads to good things.

I'm trying to catch up on this thread, so bear with me, but has the government put forward any information to support the need for this highway that contradicts the 2018 report? When this project was initially cancelled it was determined that commuters would only save 30 seconds and that...

I believe planning characterizes midrise as a 1 to 1 ratio between the building and right of way... not sure if I'm exactly accurate on that, just drawing from memory. In this case that seems about the limit for midrise as the right of way is approx 21 meters here.

I agree that, broadly speaking, there are a lot of complexities in Toronto with planning and heritage. I would change a lot, ideally though democratic means and not through random top down peace-meal changes that happen to benefit my friends. This situation happens to be pretty black and white...

Absolutely they didn't want to deal with Toronto heritage planning. They obviously didn't want to deal with anyone, or any democratic institution, at all. I really don't think there's a nuance here that makes the governments actions less corrupt and ugly. The problems in heritage planning simply...

Really nice! Although the retail area is a bit lacking compared to the rest.

Reminds me of Michael Scott declaring bankruptcy in the office.

It would be worth forwarding some of these images to Wong-Tam's office or "Friends of the Foundry." Showing conceptual images that don't destroy the heritage component could be a big help in selling how corrupt the Ford government is. These are very valuable marketing materiels. There is high...

If they're found to have acted illegally, they should be forced to re-build the structure.