Condo Critic: Neglected district shows great potential
http://www.thestar.com/article/637253
May 23, 2009
Christopher Hume
King St. east of Parliament isn't all it appears to be. Though it looks somewhat dusty, neglected and forgotten, this is one of the city's most historic and intriguing neighbourhoods.
Just to the south there's the Distillery District, which has been brought back to life, and everywhere one turns, 19th-century buildings enliven the landscape. Two of the most notable examples are Little Trinity Church and the 1848 Enoch Turner Schoolhouse, both so evocative of their time you can almost hear horses clopping along the street.
But as is the case with so many Toronto areas, Corktown, as it's now known, has been transformed by development. So far, the recent additions have been mostly positive. A row of townhouses that popped up a few years ago on the south side of King just west of River St. has filled in a gap and an older condo at the corner of King and Parliament still stands as one of the most interesting in the city.
The neighbourhood also boasts a number of tiny laneways, which in addition to possessing enormous development potential, bring an unparalleled sense of urbanity to the surroundings. They aren't fancy and some seem pretty rundown, but in the years ahead, they will become the focus of much activity.
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7 Gilead Place: Okay, technically speaking, this is a row of townhouses, not a condo tower, but as a model for how residential development should happen in Toronto, it is superb. And in the interests of full disclosure, it must be noted that the project remains unfinished. The first inhabitants won't move until the end of the month, but already it's clear that this complex is precisely the sort of housing Toronto should encourage.
Gilead Place, which runs south from King St. to Front St., is so short and easily overlooked, it's almost invisible. But this one-lane alleyway, lined mostly by grimy old industrial buildings, is one of those quiet hidden-away locations that make the city so engaging.
These units – there are eight – are finished in dark masonry and stand three storeys tall. Frankly modern and perfectly scaled, they combine the quiet appeal of an underused site with proximity to, well, everything.
Although one might have preferred a design that came without the coloured glass panels, this is a minor quibble. The more important fact is that this sort of housing represents the way of the future. Not only are these townhouses close to transit, they are within walking distance of King and Bay. And who could have imagined that chef Jaime Kennedy would have opened a shop/restaurant on a laneway such as Gilead? Even two or three years ago, that would have seemed impossible.
Above all, a development such as this is an indication of the health of Toronto. These aren't the first townhouses to have appeared in the neighbourhood – nearby Wilkins Ave. is lined with renovated 19th-century workers row-housing that's more desirable than ever. But these are the first to bring the 21st century into an area where the 1800s still feel alive.
Grade: A