agoraflaneur

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I just saw that the lands at 11 Peel Ave are for sale. I have been waiting for this for a while now, as it is a really massive ugly concrete building which has become very desirable with the completion of the Dufferin underpass at Queen. I hope that someone does something interesting with this massive parcel of land. Has anyone heard anything?

Here is the link on the icx website:

http://www.icx.ca/propertyDetails.aspx?propertyId=10159320&PidKey=-1258959040

It is going for 20 million.

This is a chance to make a real mark on the west end!
 
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Yes, that would be awesome if Freed could pull off something in this area. Most of the developers there are squandering the glamour of the Gladstone and Drake with cheap buildings. I like 2 Gladstone, though, and there is a lot of hope for some more redevelopment, especially just north of the rail lands and west of Dufferin, in addition to the Price Choppers and other buildings on Gladstone and Peel (the latter of which especially has really crappy 2-storey workers homes from the early 20th century, which had been across from industrial).
 
I really hope Mr Freed can swing for this plot of land. Surely Freedville can spawn West Freedville? Maybe even connected by a streetcar line or two and then we'll have the RM of Freedville.

If he is going to design a building with 300 bachelor 400 sq ft suites as he did at Thomson residences, no, I would prefer a different developer with a different and better idea for the this part of the city
 
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Here is a view of the site as it was before the completion of the Dufferin underpass and the beginning of construction on 2 Gladstone, amongst others. Such a big opportunity at this huge site.
 

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I froze my butt off here Tuesday night! Got nice and warm afterwards though.... I decided that as a developer I'd max out at 6-8s here, with Old Montreal-style density, beautiful red brick and wood architecture and tons of gallery/retail space along Duff/Peel/Gladstone. I'd hire S+P to do the job.
 
^ I wholeheartedly second that idea. 2 Gladstone and the impending projects at the plaza across the street and the one at the south-west corner of Queen and Dufferin give me hope that something decent will happen here too.
 
^ I wholeheartedly second that idea. 2 Gladstone and the impending projects at the plaza across the street and the one at the south-west corner of Queen and Dufferin give me hope that something decent will happen here too.

Yeah but 20 million, they will have to build big..well a bit taller than the above.
 
I'd have no problem with that. If you can't build tall next to a railway corridor, where can you?
 
I love to see one buy the whole block as most of it not worth saving in the first place.

You can build some real Victorian looking buildings along Peel and Gladstone with some nice step up building behind them going to a tall section that over looks the tracks and Dufferin Street.
 
Yes UB, what you describe sounds perfect. The project could allow for a bit of a 'loop' from queen to dufferin, up to peel, over to gladstone again, and back to queen, with retail and interesting opportunities for many other things. While there may end up being something like a point tower nearer to the railway, now that Peel is such a quiet street, it would seem perfect for a lower scale.

And that doesn't surprise me Automation Gallery - I bet it is already sold. With the proposal on Queen and Dufferin, 2 Gladstone, and everything else going on right there, it is the time to act relatively soon.

Can't wait to hear who bought it!
 
I love to see one buy the whole block as most of it not worth saving in the first place.

You can build some real Victorian looking buildings along Peel and Gladstone with some nice step up building behind them going to a tall section that over looks the tracks and Dufferin Street.

I like that concept: capturing the character of the older homes and transitioning to modern along Queen. I wish I had my images with me, as I took pictures of that weird little old house - it looks like something out of a Western. It would be ridiculous to building anything new next to it: it cries out for bulldozing.
 
Though I'm skeptical about "real Victorian looking buildings" being a formula for retro-schlock; or at least, more-of-the-same brownfields infill, not unlike so much else in the Massey-Liberty-Sudbury zone...
 
adma
Though I'm skeptical about "real Victorian looking buildings" being a formula for retro-schlock; or at least, more-of-the-same brownfields infill, not unlike so much else in the Massey-Liberty-Sudbury zone...

I am incredibly sceptical of faux Victorian architecture. Most of the time, this looks terrible owing to poor quality materials and/or a lack of interest in quality finishing. They usually look cheap and, not unexpectedly, fake.

In my opinion, the surrounding built form does not necessarily call out for replication of the past. Many buildings here are simply warehouses, or post-war 2-storey houses. The new built form will be directed by the styles of 2 gladstone and the building on queen and dufferin. Personally, I would rather see some good contemporary design mixing nice red brick, glass, good stones, something earthy and sophisticated - not a replica. The past shouldn't be replicated; here we are creating a bold new postindustrial future, and it looks decidedly unvictorian.
 

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