They are launching at nearly the same time, and directly competing with each other - very similar (if not the exact same) demographics will be targeted with these two towers.

At 245 metres, this one will average 10.7 feet per floor. Allow for higher podium floors, and allow for the thickness of the floor slabs, and they will still probably be selling 9 foot ceilings in the condos here. I can't imagine that 1 Bloor E could get away with less than that (especially if the rumoured $650 psf cost is true), so that building's height will have to increase beyond what they are currently allowed. The big question is therefore 'why hasn't City Hall been asked for a height increase from them yet?'

Anyway, that's a discussion for the 1 Bloor thread. Nevertheless, it will be very interesting to see how these two behemoths duke it out sales-wise.

42
 
Rather off-topic post coming up.

These two buildings (Aura and 1BE) typify the steady growth in size of the condo buildings being built in Toronto over the past several years. It was just five or six years ago that Pantages was being built, and I vividly recall how impressed I was with it at the time. Now, a building its size would be dwarfed by others under construction.

A comment somebody made on (I believe) the Pinnacle thread was that a few years ago, a 50-storey building under construction would have been amazing, but now they are barely noticed, unless the building is remarkable in some other way.

I fully expect 1BE to end up around 250 to 270 metres in height. It will need to be that tall, if it wants to accurately call itself "the tallest residential building in Toronto" -- and what about Trump at 280 metres? Although if that one is to be partly a hotel, it might be inelegible by their definition, or maybe they are not counting the spire. I expect more tall residential buildings in the 200 to 300 metre range to be proposed in the coming few years. For one thing, the Signature Tower in CityPlace will surely be redesigned, and probably increased in height beyond the current, and rather outdated, design.

And then there are the office buildings...

Bill
 
Mongo said:
For one thing, the Signature Tower in CityPlace will surely be redesigned, and probably increased in height beyond the current, and rather outdated, design.
Click to expand...

Don't expect the final Cityplace tower to be as tall as Aura or 1BE. The retail podium options and partnerships are very different for Cityplace vs The Yonge/College and Yonge/Bloor areas. The economics of a tower in that height range may not work for cityplace (mechanical systems are much more complex and the usable residential area on each floorplate is reduced)- plus it is still at least a year to a year and a half away and the condo market may not be as strong at that point. There are a lot of unknown factors for Concord Adex at this point.

3Dementia said:
Mike... do you know if this "spiral" has survived the design changes (presumably narrower based on your update)???
Click to expand...

Not sure... also a second lobby is planned on the 55th floor. The mechanical systems and interior core become very complicated for towers at the heights proposed for 1BE and Aura... also becoming very expensive, which is why the final phase of Cityplace isn't likely to compete in height with these two towers that benefit from higher $psf and the added revenue of very high end retails outlets, in 1BE's case a boutique hotel and other possible partnerships. The cityplace site has some constraints in terms of the economics of a very very tall residential tower. 1BE may also be counting double height floors to inflate that 80 floor figure - I guess we'll have to wait for the preview in the next couple of weeks to find out. As far as I know nothing has been submitted to the C of A or planning debt.
 
Mike, thanks for a very useful update. I'm very much looking forward to this one. Hopefully it'll create an incentive for redevelopment of the east side of the Yonge / Gerrard intersection.
 
Nothing very big will go on the North East corner, remember Covenant House is there I think the city would be sensitive to any developer after that site. Anything that would go there would need to be entirely commercial or institutional.
 
wow an 800 foot tower at Yonge and gerrade...


thats a building as tall as commerce court ending up there...
 
^I agree. With the original College Park building beside it Aura truly has the potential to create a very significant landmark. I'm glad that they seem to be taking this context seriously by using a design panel. I'm also glad that they seem to be avoiding the easy way out that would be going 'faux' with the design. As has been mentioned recently in this thread a modern glass building that communicats and interacts well with its heritage neighbour is a far more enlightened approach. I'm excited to hear about the height increase and the addition of stone too. This building promises to be quite special. ROCP I and II will now be high quality infill. Wow!!
 
It must be time to acknowledge this true "visionary"...

See below a slice of "that future render" from two and half years ago... way before any information even existed for the Aura site.

:D

aura05.jpg


Latest render:

Aura_or_RoCP_III.jpg



.... is there an applause smilie? ;-)
 
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