I'm a west side dweller who doesn't make it east of Yonge often enough (unless you count the waterfront). I biked through yesterday, and even though I follow these developments on UT, I was struck by the development boom.
I think Condovo brings up some great points. We need to be attuned to the city-building qualities of the developments always. But sometimes anything is better than what was already there (although for me, velocity is the true villain, almost sickening to see from YD square).
In the east's case, the relative abundance of parking lots always made it unappealing to me. Those parking lots led to retail dead zones. And they were markers of the fact that this area has been ignored in terms of beautification and is fairly run down. While a number of the projects Condovo cites are exactly as he describes them, many wouldn't have thought it possible that Jarvis and Dundas would have three entirely new buildings even a few years ago. That investor-driven condo (Pace) set the stage for more development. To me, more people is good almost regardless of the building quality because it will enliven an area that should surely be vastly more populated than it currently is.
I'm optimistic that as more people see the east side as attractive to live in, quality will go up. I think condovos list of upcoming developments that are promising is a relatively good list in Toronto terms - he even left out a few, like 60 Colbourne and the rest of the 80 Queen site, that are looking sharp. There are also a number of mid-rise buildings that to me at least create an interesting counterpoint to the tower neighbourhoods as well. Could they be better? Absolutely. We should keep pushing for it. But I for one am looking forward to the new eyes on the street, the section 37 money that will hopefully buy change, and the retail establishments that will cater to the new residents. And this reckoning isn't even taking into account Regent Park, which, in my mind goes without saying, is a dramatic change for the better and fairly well executed thus far.
Anyway that's my 2 cents. Looking forward to watching the east side rise.
