I was at a conference today (ironically in the convention centre) and one of the members of another panel was Blake Hutcheson
(President and CEO of Oxford). He spoke specifically about the convention centre purchase and how exciting a deal it was for them as it allowed them to utilize their multi-discipinary team (they are strong in hotels, retail, investment real estate).

He did not give much detail on what they are planning to do other than they are definitely planning something and that details should not be too long in coming out. They have been working with architects and designers and, given the prominence of the project, have not restricted that work and have sought advise/ideas from people they use internationally as well as locally.

He talked about more retail and better integration of the property into the city. He sounded genuinely excited about the project.
 
I hope they demolish the northern end and the hotel - both very ugly precast structures.
 
The centre has always been rather awkwardly connected to the rest of the city, and awkward to negotiate -- I really hope they put thought into how to remake it.

And an even bigger space wouldn't hurt (FanExpo barely fits as it is).
 
I wouldn't suppose that they would build any new convention centre over the tracks, would they? I think it''ll be quite nice, but probably a non-starter given that they'll need to work with GO Transit and CP/CN Rail.
 
jje1000 said:
I wouldn't suppose that they would build any new convention centre over the tracks, would they? I think it''ll be quite nice, but probably a non-starter given that they'll need to work with GO Transit and CP/CN Rail.
Click to expand...

I dont know if there is anywhere to build, unless they re-develop the existing site.


Or i suppose Oxford can always build a couple towers at the N/West corner of Simcoe and Bremner, which i believe they now own

 
Last edited:
this is one of the buildings in Toronto that has a big name and ends up disappointing everyone for being hideous (another one being Harbourfront Centre).
 
Hideous? That's a bit over-the-top.

42
 
I can tell you that this; the plans for the MTCC is huge! Now if it happens as proposed, this will probably be Toronto's equivalent of the Hudson Yards project in NYC- interestingly enough, also an Oxford project. I cannot divulge too much information as I was very much involved in this project and none of it is technically public knowledge or should it be just yet.

A bit of a backgrounder here:

There was an invited competition set up by Oxford Properties - all I can say is that those involved were some heavy hitters in the global architecture marketplace and some local - just think who all has built in Toronto as of late, and who is planning on building and you can pretty much fill in the blanks.

Supposedly a decision has been made, but it is not public yet, nor do I or any of the people I worked with know yet. I am going to keep this somewhat vague for obvious reasons.

For the project:

MTCC north building to go - and be replaced by retail, office towers and condos - what else is new?

MTCC north building to replaced somewhere else on site??

Hotel to stay for time-being, but may be replaced in future. Put retail on podium level of hotel? Flagship store?

Railway tracks - hmm, this could be a big deal and one that may change the landscape of the tracks for Toronto...Not saying anything as of yet, but if you look at Oxford's Hudson Yards project you will see what I am hinting at.

New and more improved connections to south - better integration with other stuff around area.

More I cannot say at the moment, but this will be big whatever the news is. But it could also end up going another route which is a pretty timid approach and that it all pretty much stays the same - just some major improvements to present buildings...Somehow I doubt this will be the direction knowing that Oxford is no slouch when it comes to building its global office/properties presence.
 
This is exciting, thanks for sharing. The CN Tower has always been sort of stranded in a bit of an architectural wasteland, aside from the SkyDome. It would be a tremendous focal point, particularly with the Aquarium. But it requires an intregrated grand vision to stand up to the scale of the pre-existing structures. Its also a chance for Front Street West to reinvent itself with the support of the other commercial properties planned on the North side.
Any idea of the announcement timeline? I predict this will be the next BIG-thread.
 
p5connex said:
More I cannot say at the moment, but this will be big whatever the news is. But it could also end up going another route which is a pretty timid approach and that it all pretty much stays the same - just some major improvements to present buildings...Somehow I doubt this will be the direction knowing that Oxford is no slouch when it comes to building its global office/properties presence.
Click to expand...

At least, I can (though not by way of prediction) picture one or both of the hotel/office-tower bookends being retained, simply on "embodied energy" anti-demolition grounds...
 
After spending the better part of the day at the Centre for the Auto Show recently, I was reminded just how broken up the space in the interior is for large shows and conventions.

You end up all over the place, retracing your steps and being directed in strange ways to access different parts of the buildings. Having been an exhibitor in the main area for commercial shows, I can say that the one good thing is the atrium windows and the light that make for a better mood when you are stuck in one place for hours.

I will be very interested to see how this goes--architecture aside.
 
This might also be the location of one of the rumoured supertalls.
It potentially "saves" cityplace by tugging the CBD south/west.
Is the implication some tracks will get covered to create required room?
 
If this is a full redevelopment, I wonder if the rail corridor could be widened as part of some big deal?
 
You must log in or register to post here.

Back
Top