I'm not sure I buy that most personal worlds are quite that small.
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Well, I'm not either, but that's the beauty of the Internet, isn't it? The joy of just saying some shit and seeing what sticks. I have the rest of the day to worry about being right.

But seriously, I think that even if people's personal worlds aren't as small as mine is, there's something special about their front doors. The street your on is your portal to the world; you have to pass through it between home and whatever else you choose to do. It's significant to the way people view their accomodations.

And this might be an asinine argument under most circumstances - who cares if you live off an alley when you're right around the corner from Little Italy, or whatever - but when people are being asked to pay X million for the pleasure, then I wonder. Part of them must be paying for an address, and that's the part that's fixed on the street, the part that can't walk 10 minutes to find the liveable parts of town. For the sake of resale, the address can only hope that the liveable parts of town will take a 10-minute stroll towards it...

Okay, I'm done.

edit: not quite -

Adma: point well taken. And to think it was almost our Empire State...
 
I think the main issue on Bay is that one can only have so many shopping streets in a city core. Even New York has many avenues with very few shops.
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I would tend argue the other way. The main high residential density avenues in the upper sides of Manhattan have a lot of retail, mixed in with restuarants and smaller grocery stores. Its the presence in downtown Toronto of mall type shopping areas, and the recent influx of surburban residents into downtown that demand larger stores like supermarkets, and one stop shopping areas (malls) which companies are catering to, that are creating this vaccum along corridors like the bay street condo canyon. Also, I bet the proportion of people that own cars in these condos/apts also detracts from the area, as people don't seen to want to shop or play where they live. They'd rather abide by Toronto's well organized areas, work in the financial district, eat and party in the entertainment district, shop in the malls, and live where these elements are minimal.

I think this is evident via pedestrian traffic. Look at the pattern of pedestrian traffic, ie. the core during MF 9-5, entertainment district at nite, etc. etc. Mixed use areas are fine, but thats not how downtown Toronto has generally organized itself. Things are changing, but these changes are not going to affect all areas.
 
I share Sir Novelty's love of the "uninvitingness" of the financial district around Bay and King, particularly on weekends when the great TD plaza is empty, the PATH system is deserted, the tall towers are unpeopled, and the traffic flow on the streets is reduced.

I walk around and I feel like I own the place. I sit on the cow sculptures, visit the inuit art gallery, window shop indoors, watch the skateboarders who have reclaimed and reinvented the space. It is rather like visiting the AGO, or the ROM, and seeing favourite works of art, objects I got to know years ago. Because they are collectively owned by all of us they could just as well be sitting in my home.
 
Message from TrumpToronto over at SSC:

Jeez. Could there be a more positive thread out there? If it were dead... I wouldn't still be working on it and the sales office would be closed. This board just always amazes me with its negativity (with a few thankful exceptions).

I've been working on this project for 3 years now and for 3 years, between the media, the Toronto real estate industry and folks on this board, our team has always had such resistance and negativity thrown our way. And yet, since we opened for sales 2 years ago, we've sold more real estate $-value than any other condo development in Toronto. Yet, the negativity and rumours still flow from some in TO. There are folks who for some reason do not want this project to succeed. It baffles me. This is a Toronto-based development team, and a project that will employ many during its construction and many more following completion. Like other Trump properties, this building will become a tourist draw as well. And that is a bad thing for Toronto?

The hurdles that have been overcome for this project to have reached the stage that it is at are remarkable. And honestly, sales have been going very well as of late. All I can say is stay tuned. We're doing everything we can to make this building a reality.
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And another update:

The bottom floor will consist of the main hotel lobby and a separate lobby entrance for residents. There will also be a sushi restaurant/martini bar off to the side of the lobby. Unfortunately, because of the loading/unloading/traffic area, we lose a lot of ground-floor space, and thus not enough room for any retail. Parking will be on levels 2-7 and the 8th floor will have the admin. offices. There will be two restaurants on the 9th floor: a casual restaurant and a five-star/fine-dining restaurant. And the 10th floor will be the business centre and meeting rooms.
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I don't think that it's that we (or they) don't want it to succeed. It's just that we'd rather not get our hopes up. Stumps and all that. If anything, the fanboy reaction to this one seems a little ambivalent at worst.
 
First, I would love to see this building succeed. Second, I mean no disrespect to TrumpToronto who has found time to respond to boards and opinion that he did not have to respond to....

But this project has been its own worst enemy. They have never been upfront about percentage of sales and other disclosures that almost all other projects have been open about. Deadlines have come and gone (they said construction would start at the end of last year. Now they say it may start at the beginning of next). Unforuntately, the history of projects on this site mean that they have to be upfront and exceptionally straightforward about everything. Talking in code and not disclosing has meant that one has been free to draw one's own conclusions.

There are no facts to counter idle speculation. The facts that do exist (the long time it has taken for sales, the unwillingness to talk about sales, the missed deadlines, the lack of specifics) can lead one to draw conclusions that may not be favourable to the project. Therefore, it should not be surprising that people are concluding that the project is in trouble.
 
Will Trump be able to bring Jean-Georges Vongerichten to open up a Toronto outpost of his restaurants?
 
I don't think the relationship is that of a partnership, since only one of Jean-George's many restaurants in NYC are located in I believe only 1 trump building. Though, I could see Toronto as being a prime destination for one of Jean-George's Vong restaurants.
 
Talking in code and not disclosing has meant that one has been free to draw one's own conclusions
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It's basic PR. If your message lacks facts and clarity people will inevitably speculate, and usually not in a good way.
 
if parking is on floors 2-7 ther wont be much excavation at this site ,which means that it will get built quick.
 
There is the path connection planned. They would probably make use of that first floor below ground as much as possible for retail or anything else that lends itself to the hotel and/or PATH. With the office buildings going in across the street and the new more indirect route from Scotiabank to Eaton Centre the PATH at that location should be fairly busy. I doubt they would go much deeper than that first floor below ground though. The fact the site is so small and the desire to have PATH level space probably prevented underground parking since the ramps would eat up all the floor space.
 
If they are smart, they will have designed a way to piggyback on the National Club's PATH connection.
 
Did the Trump people ever approach the National Club to use their air rights? It seems like such a no-brainer.
 
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