With the lazy hack job of doubling up the spandrel expanses, especially at the corner of the southern-most building, they didn't even try to make these neutrally visually acceptable. The fact that all three of the buildings are going to be grey on grey makes it further relentless. The least they could have done is break up the buildings with different coloured brick.
 
Plans originally called for a light grey, dark grey and red brick here, but it looks like they just went with dark grey. What a bummer.
 
May 2, 2020

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At least the massing is good. This is exactly the type of built-form that should be lining Dufferin from King to Steeles (as well as similar main streets throughout the city).
 
The massing is adequate. However, as the southern most building begins to reveal, the streetscape presence already looks rather lucklustre. Apart from retail, I hope the grade level units can be adapted for a variety of employment, art, and potential craft type spaces. Many years ago, but I remember attending a community consultation meeting for the previous proposal format where they were trying to make it an initiative to recreate creative employment spaces to replace the ones that used to be in the building demolished.
 
The massing is adequate. However, as the southern most building begins to reveal, the streetscape presence already looks rather lucklustre. Apart from retail, I hope the grade level units can be adapted for a variety of employment, art, and potential craft type spaces. Many years ago, but I remember attending a community consultation meeting for the previous proposal format where they were trying to make it an initiative to recreate creative employment spaces to replace the ones that used to be in the building demolished.
The last photo above shows the north building's first 5 floors with high celiing and a different layout which will be all employment (above is a large transfer slab which the remaining residential portion will sit on top of). It replaces the same GFA of space that used to be on site.City also got below market rents through s37 at the OMB. heres the deets:
 
Next weekend, 2 of the 3 cranes will be taken down and Dufferin St close at Peel for 2 blocks.

The third crane is a month or two from coming down.
 
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Taken from Dufferin Street’s 25 metres of separated bike lane (I know we should celebrate the little victories, but....huh?)

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This picture perfectly sums up Toronto's approach to providing proper cycling/transit infrastructure to its residents. It also sums up how inept our urban planning is, because they cant even come up with a consistent streetscape plan to follow.
 
This picture perfectly sums up Toronto's approach to providing proper cycling/transit infrastructure to its residents. It also sums up how inept our urban planning is, because they cant even come up with a consistent streetscape plan to follow.

Yup. Toronto planning at its typically finest.
 
I assume that bike path wraps around the corner there that's obscured to us from the pic's point of view...as oppose to ending at that fence. The latter would be almost Python'ish in absurdity if that being the case.
 

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