- Thread starter GovernorARNOLD
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Mongo
Senior Member
Wow. I don't know what to say about this kind of attitude. Did it ever occur to you that there are many people living in Toronto that simply cannot afford to pay through the nose for "diverse, independent shopping and dining"? I assure you that they do in fact care about lower prices, even if you do not.
Tewder
Senior Member
There definitely tends to be an elitist view of urbanism here these days, that everybody in the inner city must necessarily be well-heeled, hip and cooler than thou. Talk about dullsville! City Place does what it is intended to do which is house lots and lots of people in a small footprint. It will never be 'suburban' because it is too close to the city... and not every stretch of pavement in hogtown has to be lined with retail to be considered urban: a Rabba does not a city make! It may not be the 'nabe' for everybody to call home but clearly it will meet the needs of many who will have a short walk or bike ride to everything the heart of Toronto has to offer. It is a shame that there are not better transit connections but that really isn't the fault of the development.
Ramako
Moderator
My opinion is my own, whether or not I share it with the majority of others on this forum.
Regardless, I wasn't trying to chastize him. I was asking an honest question. I literally don't understand why someone who admittedly prefers a suburban lifestyle doesn't just live in the suburbs, instead of trying to turn downtown into the suburbs. It's actually those of us who prefer the "downtown-lifestyle" that are in the vast minority in this city, as evidenced by the last municipal election. I can easily imagine RedRaptor, or people like him/her, being the ones out campaigning against the now cancelled TCHC tower across from Luna because of all the supposed extra noise and traffic that it would have brought to CityPlace. How about the hordes of suburbanites stop trying to forcefully impose their suburban values upon downtown? That's what I call rude.
junctionist
Senior Member
But why give only have a limited number of business spaces in the first place? You list some positives of chains, but small business spaces need to be encouraged for economic development, which means people in Toronto starting businesses to supply new products and services. The poor need to improve their situation through education and their own entrepreneurship. Space for many businesses in the densest parts of the city is critical for the success of poorer people and the city in general. Chain retail is a trap for the poor with low-wages, low skills, and minimal opportunity.
The poor need diversity of retail too, not just a handful of low-cost chains. "Diversity of businesses" isn't merely some high-priced coffee shops and clothing stores. Diversity means various businesses serving the rich and poor, people who sell and fix products, supply services and provide capital. When the city grows without new spaces for businesses, it puts greater pressure on the existing commercial areas, driving up rents. The poor are the losers in such a case.
neubilder
Banned
I disagree. The suburbn lifestyle, which is largely car (usually SUV) dependant, highly consumptive of land and resources, and highly segregated in it's built and social form, is one that is not only unsustainable but one that has negative repurcussions for all. At some point in the not so distant future the tract suburbs of today will be seen as the real boondoggle, to use our moronic mayor's own expression more aptly.
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tkip
Active Member
Considering the high price of oil and the days of cheap energy pretty much being over, people living in the burbs are going to have a nightmare dealing with affording to commute. This is something no one wants to talk about. Like population which is the real elephant in the room.
Sustainability and our way of life. The writing would appear to be on the wall but verdict is still out. What this means in the future regarding the fate of the burbs is a mystery. Some say they'll adapt and change, others say people will abandon the burbs and flee back to the city. Time will tell.
grey
Senior Member
You're very kind to omit the more detestable motivations for opposing TCHC in their neighbourhood.
urbandreamer
recession proof
The street: St George.
The building type: apartments aimed at kids etc
The retail: nonexistant!
The area: Money.
The transit: good.
CP doesn`t need a ton of retail...now. It may develop some in the future...2044 those podium townhouses could have shops, the space between the buildings little shacks selling fruit or coffee....etc.
As a friend says: Get over it.
The building type: apartments aimed at kids etc
The retail: nonexistant!
The area: Money.
The transit: good.
CP doesn`t need a ton of retail...now. It may develop some in the future...2044 those podium townhouses could have shops, the space between the buildings little shacks selling fruit or coffee....etc.
As a friend says: Get over it.
neubilder
Banned
You've missed the point.
Being opposed to the likes of wal-mart need not imply trendy, wealthy, and hip. It does not mean expensive or exclusive. Just authentic. The real costs of wal-mart are incalculable.
Independant, authentic, non-corporate living does not have to be expensive. On the contrary, go bike to Roncessvalles and buy the best loaf of bread you've ever tasted at one of the Polish bakeries for 3 bucks. Or the Danforth, Kensington Market, or any of the inner city villages. These neighbourhoods are packed with family run businesses and are very affordable - less expensive than big grocery stores. And the local residents don't have to burn litres of gas to get there.
The wallmartized, dumbed-down, anti-elitist view of the world is unimaginative and is killing diversity and quality of life. If the masses continue to believe that wal-mart is the only affordable option, then we're all going to hell in an oversized shopping cart.
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Red October
Senior Member
Here's a few photos I took from Fort York at Doors Open on Saturday:
When I first got there you could barely even see it because of the fog, the first pic was taken at about 10:00 am, the second and third ones at about 11:30 am.
When I first got there you could barely even see it because of the fog, the first pic was taken at about 10:00 am, the second and third ones at about 11:30 am.
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junctionist
Senior Member
St. George is located in proximity to several mixed-use streets: Dupont, Bloor, Bathurst, and Davenport. CityPlace is more isolated. The kinds of organic new uses you mention may be obstructed by zoning, which is the case in many of the Modernist apartment complexes in the city. Even if they emerge, they would still be marginal. One can't be complacent and watch one such complex be built after another. CityPlace, as a new community with a high density of people, should as functional as possible with so many people living there and should promote economic development in the city, not just population growth.
Without the expansion of commercial space, diversity of retail and commercial activity becomes possible only among the wealthy because the existing diverse retail areas experience more pressure and tend to go upmarket as rents increase. The cheap corner store grocers, delis, bakeries, and bike shops disappear.
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Automation Gallery
Superstar
Just curious...is there not a thread for that under construction 41 storey TCHC building on Block 32 next to Parade-2
Automation Gallery
Superstar
Skybridge will accommodate swaying of connected towers at Toronto’s downtown waterfront
“Very large” expansion joints and bearings where it connects to two towers at Concord Adex’s City Place will allow this skybridge being constructed by Walters Inc. to adjust to the movement of the buildings.
A 500-ton glass and steel residential skybridge high in the sky between two towering buildings has all the markings of a bold engineering feat you might expect in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates.
In fact, the unusual residences will grace the Toronto skyline next year.
The 130-foot-long two-storey sky bridge will link 38- and 43-storey residential towers at a dizzying 28 and 29-storey height. Billed as the highest skybridge residences in the world, it is part of a four-tower condo complex at Concord Adex’s CityPlace on the city’s former rail lands near the downtown waterfront.
Each of the two large residences will spill over from the towers into the upper level of the skybridge.
“The constructability of this bridge is extremely challenging,” says Peter Kranendonk, vice-president and general manager of Walters Inc., responsible for the structural steel design-assist, detailing, fabrication and installation.
Kranendonk says the biggest engineering challenge is how to detail the bridge to deal with a six or so inch sway expected in the two towers.
“Each of the buildings wants to move in its own way and the link between them has to accommodate those movements.”
The design employs “very large” expansion joints at connections to the towers and bearings with “translational capabilities” to move in all directions as the buildings move to ensure that the skybridge itself isn’t adversely impacted by sway, he says.
Plans call for bridge pre-assembly in the field on temporary falsework 40 feet off the ground, starting next winter. A wind study indicates the optimum time to do the lifting operation is early summer, he says.
The job will take about 10 hours of lifting and be completed in summer 2012.
More.....http://www.dailycommercialnews.com/article/id44627
“Very large” expansion joints and bearings where it connects to two towers at Concord Adex’s City Place will allow this skybridge being constructed by Walters Inc. to adjust to the movement of the buildings.
A 500-ton glass and steel residential skybridge high in the sky between two towering buildings has all the markings of a bold engineering feat you might expect in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates.
In fact, the unusual residences will grace the Toronto skyline next year.
The 130-foot-long two-storey sky bridge will link 38- and 43-storey residential towers at a dizzying 28 and 29-storey height. Billed as the highest skybridge residences in the world, it is part of a four-tower condo complex at Concord Adex’s CityPlace on the city’s former rail lands near the downtown waterfront.
Each of the two large residences will spill over from the towers into the upper level of the skybridge.
“The constructability of this bridge is extremely challenging,” says Peter Kranendonk, vice-president and general manager of Walters Inc., responsible for the structural steel design-assist, detailing, fabrication and installation.
Kranendonk says the biggest engineering challenge is how to detail the bridge to deal with a six or so inch sway expected in the two towers.
“Each of the buildings wants to move in its own way and the link between them has to accommodate those movements.”
The design employs “very large” expansion joints at connections to the towers and bearings with “translational capabilities” to move in all directions as the buildings move to ensure that the skybridge itself isn’t adversely impacted by sway, he says.
Plans call for bridge pre-assembly in the field on temporary falsework 40 feet off the ground, starting next winter. A wind study indicates the optimum time to do the lifting operation is early summer, he says.
The job will take about 10 hours of lifting and be completed in summer 2012.
More.....http://www.dailycommercialnews.com/article/id44627
metroTO
Active Member
According to one of the selling agents for Cityplace, the lower level of the bridge will be a party room amenity featuring a glass floor... yikes! And a floor above will be two signature condo units which will sell for approximately $4 million each.
Who will pay $4 million to live at Cityplace where there are so many upscale condos in much nicer buildings and locations in the city for less, and who will pay $4 million to live above a party room that serves two large condo developments?
The bridge would be cool design feature though, as Parade 1 and 2 is rather boring looking overall.
Who will pay $4 million to live at Cityplace where there are so many upscale condos in much nicer buildings and locations in the city for less, and who will pay $4 million to live above a party room that serves two large condo developments?
The bridge would be cool design feature though, as Parade 1 and 2 is rather boring looking overall.