[DSC]

In case anyone is wondering about the status of the missing streetlights on The Esplanade near Yonge (between Backstage and the L Tower), here's what Toronto Hydro says about the matter:

[

I just received confirmation that it's the developer's (L-Tower) responsibility to install lighting here. Our team has been in touch with them in terms of approving the designs, but the actual installation is something that they need to do on their own. Might be best to contact them directly regarding a timeline.

As I sat in several meetings with the City, Hydro and the developers several years ago about these very streetlights it is TOTALLY untrue for them to now say they 'have 'just received confirmation'. The work was part of their Site Plan and the SLNA and the City have been nagging them and Hydro about this for many years. Of course, this is the same developer who has given repeated but wrong estimates about the crane! As with that, seeing is believing!

 

[ponyboy]

today. A view of the plaza from several vantages

 

[J T CUNNINGHAM]

TOTAL SCREW-OVER of THE O'KEEFE CENTRE.
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[interchange42]

today. A view of the plaza from several vantages

View attachment 148230 View attachment 148231 View attachment 148232 View attachment 148233 View attachment 148234

This could be fixed without ripping it all up. Drastically improve the plantings in the beds close to Front and Yonge streets, move the two tiny planters at the south end to near the top of the Yonge stairs (and put sometime worthwhile in them, and then add a serious planter at the south end in front of the blue wall, large enough to support ornamental trees. That would make for a start.

42

 

[David Webb]

Taken from SkyWalk today.

 

[interchange42]

From the north:

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[condovo]

That looks rough.

 

[alklay]

What's the over/under on this thing still not being finished by this time next year?

 

[DSC]

What's the over/under on this thing still not being finished by this time next year?

Most people around here seem to have given up on this mess - it is what it is.

 

[MetroMan]

Wow... remember this?

I remember getting upset that the L Tower podium got cancelled. In retrospect, I’m kind of thankful. Knowing how it turned out, a podium would have destroyed the O’Keefe’s 60’s charm.

The plaza that was left is bad but at least it’s a blank slate where something better can replace it in time as the Esplanade district densifies.

This could very easily be replaced with a large patio that given its location would be in high demand and bring life to this corner. All that’s needed are changes to the lobby layout to include a restaurant on the west side adjacent to those doors and a patio.

 

[TheSix]

This morning there was another flood apparently.... Damage to the 5th to 2nd floor.

 

[Christopher Brown]

All the wonderful goodies promised in exchange for City approval, seems those same goodies championed then by our not-so-tiny totally imperfect Mayor David Miller, well gosh golly gee whiz they all seemed to drop off the table one by one. Today, we have before us a 'world class' tower with plywood windows. But then again, maybe wood can replace metal spandrel on more buildings. The beginning of a trend?

 

[pman]

What went so wrong with this building? Another unbuildable Liebeskind design? Contractor incompetence? Shoddy developer? Some combo?

 

[.dwg]

It really is a shame what happened here and the indignity bestowed upon the Sony Centre - a modernist gem - by this project. I was walking past tonight and couldn't believe what I saw when I peered into the lobby - it is the cheapest looking lobby I've seen of the boom; it's a rare case where the lobby design actually looks like they ran out of money during construction.

The worst part is how this building meets the Sony Centre. It always felt tacked-on but they didn't even bother to carefully detail the way it meets the Sony Centre. The worst part is the way it abuts the roofline of the Sony Centre - arguably its most important feature.

Look at the way this thing abuts the civic icon that is the Sony Centre. Detailing that reveal between the old and new and tailoring the materials appropriately is an architect's dream - I guess the budget didn't make room for that since they couldn't even use an appropriate cladding choice for the tower. Developers and the parties who finance them need to be held accountable for projects like this.

 

[TheKingEast]

You don't like this?