Atlantis said:
Did they change the design and removed the three sky terraces? I thought they were a part of this project if I'm not mistaken.
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You are correct .... Good Bye Sky Gardens ~

Ed007Toronto said:
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It sounds like good news all around. The streetfronts on Bleecker and on Sherbourne should really benefit from the renovation of the facades and the installation of the townhomes. The removal of the oppressive concrete canopy over Gloucester is another reason to cheer.
 
http://thetorontoblog.com/2011/10/0...sherbourne-str-complex-goes-to-teycc-tuesday/

Proposal to add 43-floor apt tower + townhouses to Sherbourne Str. complex goes to TEYCC Tuesday

03 Oct 2011

Lots of photos of the existing buildings and area on the blog link.

Spruce-up for Sherbourne?: At its public meeting tomorrow morning, Toronto and East York Community Council will consider an intriguing development proposal that would see a 43-storey rental building and rows of 2- and 3-storey townhouses added to a complex of three apartment towers constructed on Sherbourne Street in the late 1970s. The plan also would see the redevelopment and improvement of the retail space occupying the street level of the apartment complex podium along Sherbourne Street.
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The development application, filed by community planning and urban design firm Bousfields Inc. on behalf of Medallion Properties Inc., would add 409 rental units to the Medallion-operated complex, which currently has 1,117 apartments on the northwest edge of downtown’s densely-populated St James Town neighbourhood. Although the proposed development would increase density in an already-crowded residential area likely to experience significant condo tower development in the next several years, it also would substantially improve the appearance of the tired and worn-looking complex as well as three adjacent streets — Sherbourne, Earl and Bleecker.
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A background report prepared by the city planning department for Toronto and East York Community Council (TEYCC) has recommended that the redevelopment application be approved on certain conditions, including payment of $1 million — in what’s known as Section 37 benefits under the Ontario Planning Act — in exchange for the increased project height and density. Of that sum, $900,000 would be put towards the future construction of a swimming pool at the Wellesley Community Centre next door, while $100,000 would be earmarked for streetscape improvements on Bleecker Street.
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The proposal to remove an elevated podium segment between 545 and 555 Sherbourne Street would vastly improve Earl Street by eliminating a dark and dreary passageway that looks more like a barrier than a gateway to the St James Town neighbourhood next door. Meanwhile, new townhouses along the building’s ugly east side would drastically improve what is possibly the bleakest stretch of Bleecker Street.
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The Sky Garden pic is hilarious !! Everybody enjoying drinks on one of the Sky Gardens, martini glasses abound ... was it a depiction of the end of Ramadan or something, but from an Anglo-Saxon point of view, considering the neighbourhood and all ?
 
Just wanted to post some pics of the elevated park that is slated to be torn down with the new development. Though a resident of one of the buildings I had never been up there and was struck what an anacronism it is and such a product of it's time. I'm not advocating saving it but that it should be experienced. And having been to Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union, it brought back a lot of memories.

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Someone commented that this is Toronto's version of the Highline Park. LOL
 
That's funny, I've walked by that a million times and never realized what was up there.

I'll probably get attacked for saying it, but I can kind of appreciate the thinking that went into it. It's actually got an almost dystopian Brutalist charm to it (probably accentuated by the dismal weather the shots were taken in).
 
Thanks for the tour, Rdaner. Ugly but fascinating stuff. I definitely see the Soviet resemblance, and the rainy day and gloominess enhances the likeness. The concept also reminds me of the elevated parks I saw in housing projects in Hong Kong, but their general landscaping and maintenance is top notch.
 
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What wonderful spaces for urban gardening, beyond the usual "green roof" concept. You could feed an entire city from the produce you could grow there. There's a small kitchen garden, used by the hotel to grow a limited amount of produce, in the Sheraton Centre interior garden, and the Market Square condos have a generous interior garden on the second floor. It'd be nice to see productive food agriculture take root in such places.
 
Market Square condos have a generous interior garden on the second floor
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They had to redo that roof this past summer and so all the 30 year old trees had to go. It'll be a while before the space regains its charm.
 
I was up there a couple of summers ago for the first time, the area should be fenced off. There's broken glass, syringes, areas smell of human waste and there are plenty of opportunities for falls. Believe it or not, it looks better in those photos than in person.
 
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