[Midtown Urbanist]

I'm going to get nostalgic over this as I've walked by this street corner thousands of times probably over the course of my life but I must say, I won't miss it.

It is my least favorite part of Yonge north of Eglinton, it always felt a little dirty, the sidewalk is too small and overcrowded, the storefront aside from Kitchen Stuff Plus sucks, and I dislike What-A-Bagel.

The next few years are going to be ungh with a construction site at the corner of the paramount intersection of Midtown and probably force me to walk on Roehampton instead of Eglinton on my way to Yonge to avoid the dirt and noise, but I look forward to what will come.

 

[ChesterCopperpot]

they will be building on Roehampton as well - the north tower is facing onto that

 

[ehlow]

While yes the sidewalks are overcrowded and I'm looking forward to the sidewalks being fixed and more trees & benches when the condo is constructed, this stretch did do some fundamental things well.

Some things this stretch did well and many condo storefronts do not is that it:
- has storefronts directly on the street, not behind stairs or columns like many post-modern buildings (ex. http://goo.gl/maps/cQRUO)
- created a continuous street wall
- most importantly: narrow storefronts make the street more walkable and human scaled

Compare this to the sidewalk across the street at YE centre. There you get long stretches of blank walls. You get plaza, hidden mall entrance, theatre with blank wall on the side of a staircase, Indigo, mall entrance, urban outfitters, but each thing is much wider and when you're walking by it feels like it takes a long time to get past each one.

I am looking forward to this condo and optimistic that it will make the intersection better, however, I think it's important that we look at the "main streets" that worked well on a walking scale and try to reproduce what made them good in our new developments.

 

[Roundabout]

The apartment building on Roehampton is up for demolition.

 

[Conrad Black]

While I like these towers I lament the loss of the street front here. Its very vibrant now. I expect it to become as sterile as the other 3 corners.

 

[Roundabout]

Demolition on the rental building on Roehampton has begun:

 

[Edward Skira]

Thanks for the update. I always hated this building. A big step up here.

 

[bgobgo]

While I like these towers I lament the loss of the street front here. Its very vibrant now. I expect it to become as sterile as the other 3 corners.

Just a reminder that not all those stores on the East Side of Yonge between Eglinton and Roehampton are being lost. Here is a render:

 

[DarkSideDenizen]

The units in the building being demolished look huge. I guess the tenants were forced to move when the property was sold..

 

[Bad Bear]

Just a reminder that not all those stores on the East Side of Yonge between Eglinton and Roehampton are being lost.

Anybody know what will happen to those other stores? They're going to be redeveloped?

 

[Midtown Urbanist]

The units in the building being demolished look huge. I guess the tenants were forced to move when the property was sold..

If it is like the other older buildings in the area that I've lived in, two-bedroom units would be bigger than 3-bedroom units in new condos.

 

[Roundabout]

This morning:

 

[ehlow]

For those who love destruction & demolition:

 

[raptor]

Wow, in this pace they'll be done by Monday

 

[Roundabout]

This morning: