ptbotrmpfn said:
Be nice if at least one of these supertalls being proposed had access for the public to view from. They live there get to see it everyday we don’t. Just sayin.
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I’d definitely like to see some elevated POPS in Toronto, as seen in cities like London and San Francisco. However, they are relatively expensive to maintain and operate, so unless they’re dedicated observation decks that are admission-based, I think it’s less likely in solely-residential buildings.
I’m not even sure we’ll see a dedicated observation deck in a building of any sort until something is proposed that is significantly taller than the CN Tower’s main viewing deck, 350m+. And if we do, it would probably be in a mixed-use/office building in the form of a purpose-built restaurant, similar to Canoe, to be financially feasible.
 
steveve said:
I’d definitely like to see some elevated POPS in Toronto, as seen in cities like London and San Francisco. However, they are relatively expensive to maintain and operate, so unless they’re dedicated observation decks that are admission-based, I think it’s less likely in solely-residential buildings.
I’m not even sure we’ll see a dedicated observation deck in a building of any sort until something is proposed that is significantly taller than the CN Tower’s main viewing deck, 350m+. And if we do, it would probably be in a mixed-use/office building in the form of a purpose-built restaurant, similar to Canoe, to be financially feasible.
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I'd suggest the City Hall observation deck as a priority - it is highly unlikely to happen with private developments.

AoD
 
jackass42 said:
The lack of balconies reduces the attractiveness of the smaller units in this development for me personally.
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Who wants a balcony 500, 600 or 700 feet up? Not me certainly. A lot of wind and not much else.

steveve said:
I’d definitely like to see some elevated POPS in Toronto, as seen in cities like London and San Francisco. However, they are relatively expensive to maintain and operate, so unless they’re dedicated observation decks that are admission-based, I think it’s less likely in solely-residential buildings.
I’m not even sure we’ll see a dedicated observation deck in a building of any sort until something is proposed that is significantly taller than the CN Tower’s main viewing deck, 350m+. And if we do, it would probably be in a mixed-use/office building in the form of a purpose-built restaurant, similar to Canoe, to be financially feasible.
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The Manlike Centre has a restaurant (The One Eighty) on the 51st floor with a deck a block over. No reason for one here.
 
Edward Skira said:
The Manlike Centre has a restaurant (The One Eighty) on the 51st floor with a deck a block over. No reason for one here.
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I don't think that negates the reason for having one here. I'd say most people, especially tourists, don't know about the restaurant with a view. And even if they did, I doubt that restaurant will allow people to hang out for a hour or two admiring the view/taking photos. Also worth to note that The One would be much higher than 51 stories and feature a 360 view.
 
Edward Skira said:
Who wants a balcony 500, 600 or 700 feet up? Not me certainly. A lot of wind and not much else.
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My camera certainly wants one of those balconies!
 
kotsy said:
I don't think that negates the reason for having one here. I'd say most people, especially tourists, don't know about the restaurant with a view. And even if they did, I doubt that restaurant will allow people to hang out for a hour or two admiring the view/taking photos. Also worth to note that The One would be much higher than 51 stories and feature a 360 view.
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Not disagreeing that an observation deck on The One would be striking but just as an anecdote I visited that place a few years ago when it was Panorama Lounge, it has exterior patios with north and south views and we stayed for about 4 or 5 hours. Maybe that's not the case now if it is a full on restaurant and not a cocktail bar. Views were incredible though and while they weren't 360 degrees you got all the important stuff ;)
 
kotsy said:
I don't think that negates the reason for having one here. I'd say most people, especially tourists, don't know about the restaurant with a view. And even if they did, I doubt that restaurant will allow people to hang out for a hour or two admiring the view/taking photos. Also worth to note that The One would be much higher than 51 stories and feature a 360 view.
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I don't know if the uber rich will want the public hanging out the top floor of their building - esp. when said space can be their own private patio. Also, public access will probably translate into separate elevators - and in this particular case access to the residents only sky lobby given the ground floor of the tower is open retail.

AoD
 
kotsy said:
I don't think that negates the reason for having one here. I'd say most people, especially tourists, don't know about the restaurant with a view. And even if they did, I doubt that restaurant will allow people to hang out for a hour or two admiring the view/taking photos. Also worth to note that The One would be much higher than 51 stories and feature a 360 view.
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And the developer needs a business reason to put one up here. That business reason is reduced by the fact there's a deck nearby that works just fine. Just having a dedicated elevator would make it a non-starter unless there was serious demand. And I don't think there is such demand in the city especially since we already have the CN Tower.
 
There are multiple observation decks in Manhattan, and Chicago has at least two. John Hancock was popular for decades despite Sears being the tallest building in the world. I'm not advocating for one but I'm not so sure it wouldn't be a popular attraction.
 
Bogtrotter said:
There are multiple observation decks in Manhattan, and Chicago has at least two. John Hancock was popular for decades despite Sears being the tallest building in the world. I'm not advocating for one but I'm not so sure it wouldn't be a popular attraction.
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If the hotel is occupying the top floors a publicly accessible private space (restaurant, lounge, whatnot) is probably a reasonable expectation - not in this case though.

AoD
 
I'm hard pressed to see any developer willingly constructing an publicly accessible observation deck at the top of a tall building, for the reasons already mentioned above, unless it were part of a restaurant space or something (which would require one to be a customer to enjoy the views).

That leaves the city securing it with Section 37 as a public benefit. The problem is that the incredibly high value per sq. ft. of space at the top means that the observation deck would cut into, and undoubtedly replace, any other Section 37 benefits, meaning that there would be no contributions towards everything from public art to affordable housing. I just don't see any of the downtown Councillors caring enough about views for tourists et al that they would give up on issues they do care about.

As AoD mentioned above, a more realistic priority would be getting the City Hall observation deck restored and opened some day.
 
Bogtrotter said:
There are multiple observation decks in Manhattan, and Chicago has at least two.
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Also worth noting that none of those are free, and at least three of the ones I can think of in Manhattan are quite expensive (the cheapest adult ticket at One WTC is USD $32).
 
In Toronto, I do not think that there would be a business case for an observation deck with hefty admission fees with the CN Tower in town.
 
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