officedweller
Senior Member
PS - some of those carpet remants could make reasonable doormats.
- Thread starter Northern Light
- Start date
ProjectEnd
Superstar
Yep, I'm certainly not pinning this solely on Silver Hotels. Hence "everyone involved" - from the City on down.
mburrrrr
Senior Member
Who would have set up a contract with a Dec 31 end date? (Original and/or extended) History would say you never kick people out in the winter. Surely the City could have spent the money more effectively but I guess this is what happens when big government moves quicker than they are capable of.
Rufus8
Active Member
no I'm not being sarcastic, I'm being honest, bit of a stretch on this board I know but there it is......
Rufus8
Active Member
The application might be an attempt to up the property value. A prime site downtown is valuable but a prime site with planning permission is much better on the balance sheet.
Northern Light
Superstar
I don't believe that is the case here.
urbanexplorer
Active Member
My understanding is that the proposal is for Condos, Hotel and Retail per the database entry. So It's giving as much back as the current building does in terms of "participating in the community" hotel-wise. Just with additional units for people to live in as well.
Construction is a bit of a foregone conclusion in every part of the city at this point.
UtakataNoAnnex
Senior Member
No, that has to be an illusion...as it's usually big government moves too slowly than they're capable of. And oft deliberately so. /sigh
mburrrrr
Senior Member
Community meeting tonight
New proposal submitted to address the city’s previous concerns.
One larger tower now with greater set backs and no shadow issues on Berczy park on March 21 at 10 am. Maybe we should make this day and time a downtown park holiday?
NW corner looking east down the esplanade
One massive tower - looks like two. Seamless glass for now.
I haven’t figure out my obstruction yet - i’m afraid to look.
Pink is retail, blue is hotel, orange is condo entrance. 7th floor amenity in red and blue is outside space.
Parking is still an issue related to 25 The Esplanade. Hence the TBD in my opinion.
New proposal submitted to address the city’s previous concerns.
One larger tower now with greater set backs and no shadow issues on Berczy park on March 21 at 10 am. Maybe we should make this day and time a downtown park holiday?
NW corner looking east down the esplanade
One massive tower - looks like two. Seamless glass for now.
I haven’t figure out my obstruction yet - i’m afraid to look.
Pink is retail, blue is hotel, orange is condo entrance. 7th floor amenity in red and blue is outside space.
Parking is still an issue related to 25 The Esplanade. Hence the TBD in my opinion.
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DavidCapizzano
Senior Member
Nope. Send it back.
Northern Light
Superstar
Hmmm, I think we're headed in the right direction here.
There are some fundamental improvements, and the podium, while still not quite right, is very much among them.
It's got a more St. Lawrence vibe than it did, but it's just not quite there.
I think the height is fine, the massing is weird, combined w/the cladding, it's trying to read as two tower forms with an unending skybridge that looks like neither. I don't get it.
Not keen on the look of the towers either; but that's pro-forma for me, LOL; something either a bit more 'Selby' (brick all the way up); or a flattering contrast in jet black might be interesting.
I believe @RepublicDevelopments really tries; I'm not sure they hire the right firm to deliver that..........but I digress....
****
A couple of other things jump out at me. At-grade, the main entrance is over-stated; it's simply too large. I get the desire to give it profile, but it's too much.
Also do the condo lobby and hotel lobby need to be side by side, but separate, occupying so much frontage?
What about a narrower entry w/some interior grandeur that leads you back, and the lobby areas can be closer to the rear, ideally, in shared-space.
There are some fundamental improvements, and the podium, while still not quite right, is very much among them.
It's got a more St. Lawrence vibe than it did, but it's just not quite there.
I think the height is fine, the massing is weird, combined w/the cladding, it's trying to read as two tower forms with an unending skybridge that looks like neither. I don't get it.
Not keen on the look of the towers either; but that's pro-forma for me, LOL; something either a bit more 'Selby' (brick all the way up); or a flattering contrast in jet black might be interesting.
I believe @RepublicDevelopments really tries; I'm not sure they hire the right firm to deliver that..........but I digress....
****
A couple of other things jump out at me. At-grade, the main entrance is over-stated; it's simply too large. I get the desire to give it profile, but it's too much.
Also do the condo lobby and hotel lobby need to be side by side, but separate, occupying so much frontage?
What about a narrower entry w/some interior grandeur that leads you back, and the lobby areas can be closer to the rear, ideally, in shared-space.
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ProjectEnd
Superstar
Better versions:
ProjectEnd
Superstar
Anything in particular? If this ends up as 55 Mercer-quality IBI (which the design language seems to emulate), I think it'd be fine.
Northern Light
Superstar
Hmm, I think 55 Mercer is nail-on-the-head perfect (or pretty close) for the podium. If you didn't know better, you might actually think it was a heritage building (obviously not the tower form). I don't think the above render is quite there.
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innsertnamehere
Superstar
This is a huge improvement but I agree that it still needs a few tweaks, particularly relating to street level. Some better articulation of the pedestrian scale and perhaps a more varied street facade would work. This is a really long building, there should be an effort to create some visual variety along its length or something. 55 Mercer manages that much quite nicely and it's not nearly as long.