[College Park]

Whatever glass wall podium that gets erected is unlikely to be as visually interesting as these storefronts.

As visually rich as this corner is, the various elements are not quality elements: the Ali Baba building in particular is a half-burned patched structure that evokes archival photos of the Ward.

 

[torplanner]

what I heard is that the developers are trying to make the restaurants stay by including them in the project and providing a makeover.

I really hope so. They are a great feature for the neighbourhood.

 

[ksun]

Whatever glass wall podium that gets erected is unlikely to be as visually interesting as these storefronts.

these storefronts are downright hideous. I agree the future glass podium is likely to be generic, lifeless and boring, but that doesn't make the current built form any better. We have so few buildings that are worth looking at for 2 seconds.

 

[Stupidandshallow]

podium does not look promising... surprise surprise.

Looks like this might be RAW Design... http://app.toronto.ca/DevelopmentAp...icationsList.do?action=init&folderRsn=3674443

 

[Auraz]

Awful.... What a let down.

 

[stjames2queenwest]

the balconies look like they might be neat, but yea the podium is so uninviting, looks like a giant dentist office

 

[DSC]

the balconies look like they might be neat, but yea the podium is so uninviting, looks like a giant dentist office

Or a soviet interrogation centre?

 

[Uptowner]

What an abject failure this project will be if the podium is allowed to resemble anything remotely similar to that render. Some projects reveal a developer's clear indifference to a neighbourhood and its current and future residents. This render suggests to me that whoever approved this as a submission has moved beyond indifference to disgust, and is verging on outright loathing for the neighbourhood. It is vile, and a condemnation of our entire planning process, that someone thinks a design like this would get approved. Whoever the local councilor is better be implacably opposed to such sterile banality.

With this part of the city on the cusp of such major change to its built form we really need to do our best to get things started off well. Having something like this be a benchmark for what is acceptable would be a huge disservice to the entire city. The City must demand more than Mississauga style main street retail. Please look around at other proposals like the Honest Ed's redevelopment to see how an individual building can have more interesting retail. If you are going to get 46 storeys then you have to do better than this.

 

[innsertnamehere]

this development is clearly still in the early stages. If what is pictured is what gets built i would be extremely surprised.

 

[urban]

That podium is awful. Hoping this is just the beginning.

 

[salsa]

I'm trying to understand why everyone is so riled up over the podium. I know it's bad, but how is it any worse than many other developments? The glass wall retail in particular is something that happens 90% of the time.

 

[UrbanFervour]

I'm trying to understand why everyone is so riled up over the podium. I know it's bad, but how is it any worse than many other developments? The glass wall retail in particular is something that happens 90% of the time.

Because dozens of generic condo towers with featureless, street-deadening podiums have been built in Toronto. People are sick of them being approved and want planners, architects and most of all, developers to be held to a higher design standard going forward. I am glad people are riled up about this. It shows that more people understand what works and what doesn't work in building a better city and our standards are rising (as they should).

 

[Uptowner]

I'm trying to understand why everyone is so riled up over the podium. I know it's bad, but how is it any worse than many other developments? The glass wall retail in particular is something that happens 90% of the time.

For me I guess there is more than one reason. First, it could be that my expectations, as well as my hopes, have been raised by some better proposals out there including and especially the Honest Ed’s redo. I hope that is also true of many other people in Toronto. I don’t know yet if it is.

Also, it is partly that Church Street (particularly in the north) is still relatively untouched by new glass condos. If it was already halfway to looking like Bay Street at ground level between Wellesley and College (edited from Church), then people would probably be more resigned to the inevitable destruction of its very distinct character. Because it still seems to be relatively early in its transformation people may think the trajectory has yet to be established. Is it moving towards boring Bay Street type stuff or something only slightly better? For some of us we think Church can do radically better. The spectre of spectacular and comprehensive failure looms over the whole process of Church Street’s evolution, though, when you see early renders for 46 storey buildings with podiums that look like this.

So, to recapitulate, some people may be more agitated because this street’s transformation seems incipient enough that there may actually still be an opportunity to avoid a potential tsunami of such mundane, bland and even dreary architecture overwhelming Church Street, whereas for other areas it seems too late.

 

[pmilo]

im in complete agreement with everyone else, this podium is hideous and is out of sorts with the feel of the Church and Dundas area.

 

[gabe]

Oh my god! What a dead zone.