MileHigh said:
When I saw this I was hoping that this meant the end of the Dragon Centre... the place is a nightmare... disgustingly dirty. But alas...

I agree I don't see the appeal of living in this area, specifically this location.
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This is a dilemma I found here: many people seem opposing to any sort of gentrification of Chinatown: they want it to stay messy and "different" from the rest of the city, yet they themselves would not want to live in such an area because it is messy. They prefer living in more gentrified neighbourhoods.
 
It would be great to see some development in this area that went with the theme of the area (height/building design) sans the dirty. I actually frequent the area almost every weekend so I don't mind how busy it gets, it's just a bit of a turn off considering how dirty and run down some of the buildings are.
 
Have you been inside Dragon City?

It's really not dirty, I don't get where that's coming from...
 
The revitalization of Alexandra Park will have a tremendous impact on improving the Chinatown area overall. Chinatown would really benefit from new investment and developments. Right now it seems to be stuck in the 80's with the same old repetitive crappy dollar t-shirts and souvenirs shops at every other building. More emphasis needs to be placed on creating a cleaner and more aesthetically appealing public realm and more contemporary/fashionable retail spaces. There's definitely steadily high pedestrian traffic in the area but initiatives need to be taken to attract renewed interest in the area. I'd like to see more mid-rise developments in the area with mixed-usage at the base and residential units on top.
 
BobBob said:
Have you been inside Dragon City?

It's really not dirty, I don't get where that's coming from...
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Yes I have been inside Dragon City... several times. As I said I'm in the area almost every weekend... otherwise I would never have commented.

Maybe your "dirty" and my "dirty" are 2 different things.
 
urbandreamer said:
Yeah all along Dundas, from Beverly to Bathurst could be redeveloped with 10s buildings, and much of Spadina as well. 10,000 new residents to the area would do wonders.
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I agree. I'd love to see a hipster makeover of Spadina...
 
gabe said:
It's dirty
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if you think Dragon City is dirty, try any one those Chinese grocery stores or many restaurants nearby.

Our Chinatown needs an overhaul/cleaning up. I don't know what you guys think but it is an embarassment to both Toronto and the term "Chinatown". China is not in its 1980 any more, what does Chinatown have to remain that way? This steoreotype dirty, messy, cheap Chinatown model is so outdated and out of touch with real world that even the Chinese don't want to associate with it.
 
balenciaga said:
if you think Dragon City is dirty, try any one those Chinese grocery stores or many restaurants nearby.

Our Chinatown needs an overhaul/cleaning up. I don't know what you guys think but it is an embarassment to both Toronto and the term "Chinatown". China is not in its 1980 any more, what does Chinatown have to remain that way? This steoreotype dirty, messy, cheap Chinatown model is so outdated and out of touch with real world that even the Chinese don't want to associate with it.
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That's why we have Highway 7.
That's where all of the good Chinese markets and restaurants are located these days.
 
balenciaga said:
This steoreotype dirty, messy, cheap Chinatown model is so outdated and out of touch with real world that even the Chinese don't want to associate with it.
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That is true. My cousin had recently arrived here from China and found Chinatown to be too old. He moved to York Region instead. Now you got old timers and Mandarin speaking immigrants ( they will eventually move out from there too ).
 
Towered said:
It would be much nicer than it is now. Chinatown needs a complete makeover, from top to bottom.
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I couldn't agree more. Not only is it decrepit and dirty but the buildings don't reflect anything Chinese/Asian at all. They can't even go to the trouble to put up the traditional Chinese arches or something that would reflect its culture. Nobody seems to have any desire to invest in the district or even clean it up. If anybody has gone to the Chinatown Festival put on by the local BIA, it's clear that spending any modest amount of money here, is just something they are not willing to do.

What is the point of having a BIA, if in 20 years, they haven't improved a thing. In fact, I think it has just gotten worse. It's rather pathetic.
 
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