[UserNameToronto]

I don't know...For some reason the before pic just gave me that assumption.

These were the worst 2 buildings in an area that was almost fully gentrified. Very much an exception.

They were owned by a church that simply sat on them and let them decay for many years. It wasn't that they were "worthless" buildings, or that no one would have wanted to live in them. They sat derelict because the owner wasn't interested in maximizing profits.

 

[taal]

To clarify for the last time...I wasn't taking about King St E specifically...but rather Moss Park, Regent Park and Corktown in Downtown East...you know, places within 500M. If you haven't lived here or you don't seriously think that there have been problems here in the past or present then maybe you need to get out more...especially walk by a Methadone Clinic and have guys waiting in line pee directly in the street at 2 p.m. to harass women going by. The sidewalks around these clinics are gross. I'm happy that you don't see these things, but I'd worry for your daughter, wife or mother if they were in these areas by themselves at night. Ya, I can protect myself too and was in the force for awhile at 20. Wasn't talking about my own safety though.

We all have comfort levels with sketchy people and see what we want to see. Maybe I see too much and know about the rampant domestic violence in the buildings here which makes me cynical.

Hope we can get back to talking about the workman's cottages...because they really have done a fantastic job

Right so this is what I was alluding to in my post, you are referring to the area north of this, in which I agree, well 'no go zone' is a little much but either way. 500m makes a huge difference in cities, particularly in the US (even in Canada) !

 

[jje1000]

Project looks great- shows that even the smallest tattered ruins can be brought back to improve a streetscape. My only little qualm is that there's a missed opportunity to blend the buildings better with the park- I wish they did something other than a blank wall, but I suppose that there's issues with property lines and the such. A patio would have been great in giving that bit of dead space a bit of use.

 

[Hamiltonian]

They could paint the wall like the flatiron building facing Berczy Park.

 

[CanadianNational]

I think it's great that in the middle of all these huge machined projects, there's this little careful one going on. The restoration might be less than authentic, but the front's still a historically cute lil' thing.

 

[k10ery]

^Agreed. 6-over-6 windows and an authentic looking storefront. I don't care if it's a phony - it's an awfully good one.

 

[interchange42]

Hey k10ery, check your Notifications at the top of the page!

42

 

[AlbertC]

https://flic.kr/p/nGRWPz

 

[T-Bor]

Do we know what's going in these yet?