These developments are all starting to wrap up, and seeing as there wasn't any good comprehensive photos of the site I went out and did a walk about. I'll give some commentary about each photo.
To start, an overview of the finished block. It's an impressive amount of density that doesn't feel too overwhelming, and the mix of uses is also commendable. The architecture is somewhat forgettable, but the site/ground plan is what the focus of the development always seemed to be so there will be a focus on that as it's more interesting then the condos themselves.
For a TLDR: Many things have definitely been watered down here, both the public realm and designs are missing little details and overall cohesive thought of it all together. The make or break of this block will be the retail tenants that set up here.
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The office contains a retained heritage warehouse component along with retail lining around much of the new section of the building, which is nice to see. The intention was to make a lively restaurant street, but that will very much remain to be seen.
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The office lobby intersects with the old warehouse building, very similarly to The Tannery a block up, I like the consistency. The pillars here look odd though, and I feel like the lobby entrance should've been aligned with the atrium, it's odd how it's sidelined.
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The old warehouse itself was saved almost entirely including much of the ceiling joists, I'm pretty sure this is a little more than facadism as it was retained in a very different manner than seen in Toronto.
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A closer shot of the lobby, which feels almost seamless to the outdoors with the lighting at night, but it's mostly invisible during the day.
Looking at the public realm here, it's overall quite sparse. Half sidewalk (probably due to city ownership) and half concrete blocks that are individually placed. The grate really detracts from the whole look though.
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Further along the public realm here shows no trees or planters unfortunately, just a few small concrete and wood benches. The wood underside adds warmth to the space, but overall doesn't provide a space that will turn out as lively as the renders try to promise. It does leave room for some decent patio space, but a lot of street furniture is really needed to make this space feel worthwhile. It's next to a fast stroad, so it's a hard sell.
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Walking into the cozy inner street. The office retail wraps around the back here, but the first phase doesn't interact with the space at all (and is leased to a sleep clinic) so it's not hard to see why this space may be harder to activate than being lead on.
The retail space on the left side also seems to be acting as a stepped up patio, which may make for a much better space off the main road.
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The little mural on the blank wall here is fun, though it feels like it should've covered the whole thing. The lobby entrance for this tower is also very utilitarian looking, like it's mildly sketchy...
This angle starts peering into the back portion of the block, which is lined with retail units on both sides. Will be curious what retail will open here as well, especially with more prospective density nearby.
The actually size of the space to me feels great, its a nice cozy urban escape from the ugly arterial road at the front of the site, but the details just aren't there to make it special.
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Final shot down the back street, which is not really finished yet so judgements may come later. The podium here looks eerily similar to the one on DTK though...
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