[grey]

Those half-basement ground level industrial buildings are the same design as those found along King between Spadina and Bathurst and pretty much all the way up Spadina. Despite being half underground or above ground, retail has fit into those buildings beautifully and now those streets are some of the best in the city.

The building directly south on that streetview is being replaced with a condo which will probably put a podium there and hopefully some spaces like the District Lofts next to 401 Richmond. The north side is becoming an Allied office building. The 401 Richmond building is a bit tricky right now. There isn't even a sidewalk there, but that building is otherwise extremely successful on the inside. Honestly, that strip of Richmond is one of my favourite places (for the streetscape, not for the walkability).

 

[adma]

And on the whole, it isn't as if there aren't comparable places in NYC that've likewise adapted (think parts of Tribeca, Chelsea, etc)

 

[taal]

Those half-basement ground level industrial buildings are the same design as those found along King between Spadina and Bathurst and pretty much all the way up Spadina. Despite being half underground or above ground, retail has fit into those buildings beautifully and now those streets are some of the best in the city.

The building directly south on that streetview is being replaced with a condo which will probably put a podium there and hopefully some spaces like the District Lofts next to 401 Richmond. The north side is becoming an Allied office building. The 401 Richmond building is a bit tricky right now. There isn't even a sidewalk there, but that building is otherwise extremely successful on the inside. Honestly, that strip of Richmond is one of my favourite places (for the streetscape, not for the walkability).

That's it that Allied building ever gets off the ground ..

I think trees would help the area a lot, but then again maybe that would take away from the street scape. I do like the area as well, I hope these buildings stay put and don't simply get replaced with condos.