God, those buildings across the street from Zanzibar, are so damned ugly. Why hasn't somebody torn them down and redeveloped that part of Yonge Street? Not only are those buildings butt ugly but they are in such shabby shape. (and I don't mean "shabby chic" either) I hope Aura is the catalyst for that.
It's really come to my attention in the last while how shabby Yonge street really is. As a tourist drag it'll always be a bit tacky, but there is a lot to be desired about some strips. We'll see what happens with the condos coming up around the area.
The signs look fine, this isn't Dundas Square.
Many of the exteriors have been poorly maintained but most of them still have good bones. Graffiti is terrible too on the sides of the buildings above the street (2nd/3rd floors), so much for Ford's failed graffiti program.
I walked past this a few times yesterday (lighting was bad, and so is my phone camera, sorry no pics) and aside from the pipe that is right in the way, this meets the street quite well and doesn't have any glaring issues that I could see. Yes the mullions don't really line up, but it's not something that really detracts from the experience walking by. The lighting features on the black granite pillars is simple and tasteful, which is something this tower needs more of. I can't wait for the tower to get to the curved section, I'll have a great view of it from my window and I'll try and get some pictures later on.
God, those buildings across the street from Zanzibar, are so damned ugly. Why hasn't somebody torn them down and redeveloped that part of Yonge Street? Not only are those buildings butt ugly but they are in such shabby shape. (and I don't mean "shabby chic" either) I hope Aura is the catalyst for that.
Agreed, but, so is the Zanzibar, it's so tacky and gaudy, always has been, but the Yonge Street of the earlier decades was almost entirely tacky and gaudy. But now that there are some high quality towers being constructed all along the street, it just makes these places stick out even more. In just that small section between Dundas and Gerrard, there are 2 strip joints, and homeless youth centre, and junk shop after junk shop. I'm willing to bet, as we see the newer occupants of these luxury towers, exploring their new turf, we'll see the elimination of these eye sores, and a rebirth of rebuilt buildings, at least, I'm hoping. I was walking north past the Evergreen centre (homeless youth shelter) and couldn't get past the mob of punk ass, scary looking kids/ young adults blocking the sidewalk in front of the shelter smoking pot and verbally harassing every pretty girl that walked by. On my way back south, there were three police cars, four of those kids under arrest, and the rest running away from the police down Yonge. I can't see this lasting once tenants who've paid hundreds of thousands (or some, millions) of dollars move into Aura. Not to sound elitist, but if I'm paying over a million dollars, I wouldn't want street kids smoking dope and harassing people outside my door!
It's quite obvious thedeepend is not a fan of Canderel since he went out of his way to take pictures of only the deficiencies of the project. Really, who does that?.
Much has been said about the obsessive behaviour of certain forum members. I'm starting to agree. It's this kind of thing that makes it difficult to take UT seriously.
Who does that? Well if you'd been a member of UT since the beginning, UT members have a long history of pointing out crappy condo buildings as they complete. From Cresford's Quad Lofts c.2004 to Aura today, it's part of what makes UT great.
I've always had a soft spot for Element so I hope that's not true about it!
Developers do need to be held accountable though. And UT is far more oriented towards "omg I love it cuz it's a tall tower!!111" than people who just work to expose the flaws. So I'd say some balance towards the latter holds value, especially when you know how most of these developers (read: profit-seekers-at-any-cost) operate.
I've always had a soft spot for Element so I hope that's not true about it!
Developers do need to be held accountable though. And UT is far more oriented towards "omg I love it cuz it's a tall tower!!111" than people who just work to expose the flaws. So I'd say some balance towards the latter holds value, especially when you know how most of these developers (read: profit-seekers-at-any-cost) operate.
I'm pretty certain it was Element, though I could be wrong. I can't find the pictures, but there were a whole bunch showing shoddy workmanship around vents, spandrel panels and other fixtures. I agree there needs to be more accountability, I find a lot of condos here to be cheap and poorly finished when it comes to the finishing touches and materials used. More thought needs to be put into the public realm at the base of new developments, as that's what most people have to interact with day-by-day. But hey, if it's tall who cares right?
I'm pretty certain it was Element, though I could be wrong. I can't find the pictures, but there were a whole bunch showing shoddy workmanship around vents, spandrel panels and other fixtures.
