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Cooool

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It seems like CityPlace is the textbook definition of failure. People critisize everything about it, from the exterior to the neighbourhood.

How come it is so widely critisized? Is it even complete yet? I thought they were adding retail all along Bremner Boulevard? The area seems relatively busy.
 
I think Signature will rectify the existing issues with the CityPlace community. It'll likely have a large retail base which will sit flat in the middle of the entire community, creating opportunities for pedestrian traffic.

The tower itself will fill a void that right now gives CityPlace a windswept, towers in the park feel.

The condos lining the West side of Spadina actually have a nice street presence and Bremner is being revitalized with the all the developments on the East end near the ACC, the restoration of the Roundhouse, the expected upgrades to the SkyDome and the CN Tower around the centre and the extension of Bremner to Bathurst on the West.

The latest CityPlace buildings have seen better glass and finishings so I'm optimistic that it'll turn out alright once everything is finished.

That said, I'm in the market now and I won't buy there. The whole community feel seems very artificial, very manufactured. I guess it feels that way because it's all planned by one developer. It's not a neighbourhood that grew organically like we're used to in Toronto.
 
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That said, I'm in the market now and I won't buy there. The whole community feel seems very artificial, very manufactured. I guess it feels that way because it's all planned by one developer. It's not a neighbourhood that grew organically like we're used to in Toronto.

I feel the same way and that's very important to me in choosing a neighbourhood to live in. What hoods do you have your eye on?
 
I live on Richmond St. West wedged between West Queen West and King West. I love both so I've been looking for my new loft in those neighbourhoods.

Liberty Village is turning out nice although it felt manufactured at first. I might consider getting a place there because it's becoming apparent that the Metro grocery store, along with its parking lot and the mini strip mall next to it will eventually revert to more condos with retail at the base.
King West's development is also expanding West towards Dufferin.
In 10 years or less, Liberty Village will be just as desirable as and comparable to the Distillery District
 
i live at CityPlace and i love it. It's a great location with great amenities.
Take a walk around, people enjoy it.
 
City place is not a bad project. People complain about it because it's not something that we've seen much on this side of the world. Foreign things are scary to some. So is change.
 
/\ No, people complain about it because it's a broken, car-centric 'community' which was then busted down further because city didn't push for the kind of finishings that were applied to its sister out west. It's something which masquerades as cute and livable but in reality is far more anonymous and far less desirable than the renders would lead you to believe.

Coulda, woulda, shoulda...
 
once it is fully built out, I too don't think it will be so bad.

i have a friend who lives there and visited her once. they are nice inside. but, on a saturday afternoon, the wait for the elevator was rediculous. I took me back to my university days.. there had too be over 20 people, not one person over 35, most under 30. and i saw this cue for the elevator repeatedly as i was getting a tour of the building.

another friend on the condo hunt was advised not to purchase in cityplace because of the re-sale problems. at any momment in time when you list, you will be one of dozens for sale at the same time. with nothing unique to offer, the lowest list price wins.

on a bizzare note, i hear there is an on-line community of city place resident only bed-buddies.. so prolific it would make the personal adds on craigslist blush.
 
Young people are so lucky these days - a complex of buildings all to themselves, moderately priced and interchangeable, centrally located and catering to all their needs.
 
on a bizzare note, i hear there is an on-line community of city place resident only bed-buddies.. so prolific it would make the personal adds on craigslist blush.

I wonder if the Concord's marketing team is going use this in their campaigns.

"Live at CityPlace, we've got the loosest slots in town!"
 
The Cityplace phenomenon - a masterplanned, middle-class community of look-alike housing with full amenities and a dedicated service centre - actually sounds like a pretty old phenomenon. Although concrete examples escape my mind right now, I don't know how many times I've read an urban history book about some prewar complex in the United States where the historians recall that a glorious collection of garden apartments that have now falled on hard times once boasted their own private gardens, bowling alleys, streetcar stop or Turkish bath.

It's hard to predict how culture will evolve over the next century, but if I had to hazard a guess, I would imagine that in 70 years from now, Cityplace will have been integrated into the urban fabric - some of the buildings will have been demolished and replaced with other stuff and others will be radically reconfigured both inside and out, making them appear unrecognizable. I'll guess that the condo corporation will cease to exist in its present form, the parent company having long moved on, either due to folding, merging with another company, or maybe housing development will just not be such an important component of the late 21st century economy as it once was. The amenities complex will probably be recycled into some other use: stores, offices, more housing, who knows? I'm pretty sure that over time the unified look, and the complex's distinctness from the rest of the surrounding city - both architecturally and socio-demographically- will gradually disappear, and it will be just another neighbourhood with some unique history.
 
In the short term, its better than what was there to start, which was not much of anything. But long term, it is definately a lost opportunity, such a huge swath of land downtown to end up like it did. How many large cities that center a population center of 8MM had such an opportunity downtown.
 
I wonder if the Concord's marketing team is going use this in their campaigns.

"Live at CityPlace, we've got the loosest slots in town!"

lol.. anywhere you put a bunch of single young people in such close proximity, it will happen.

it's almost like linving in a Dorm!

I used to live in a condo and i do miss the friendliness community feeling.

Go door to door on a weekend evening and go 'condo' hopping!


and yes, it si like melrose place!
 
It certainly is nice is the way that the buildings fill in the 'hole' west of the CN Tower when viewing the city from the islands or lake
 

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