They should build a casino on top of the Exchange Tower podium :D

Honestly this is as much a hare-brained idea, I don't think core residents/businesses will like it...
 
If the casino was just one component of a much larger redevelopment scheme, if the MTCC was made more pedestrian friendly both along Front and at the south Bremner entrance, and if they were able to incorporate something like a small rail terminal (even 3 or 4 platforms) to take some pressure off Union, I think this wouldn't actually be a bad idea. That area is emerging as the de facto tourist strip in the city (HHOF, ACC, Ripley's, the Dome, and the CN Tower), there's a range of hotels nearby, it's transit accessible, and it might help the convention centre compete with more 'fun' locales.
 
whatever said:
If the casino was just one component of a much larger redevelopment scheme, if the MTCC was made more pedestrian friendly both along Front and at the south Bremner entrance, and if they were able to incorporate something like a small rail terminal (even 3 or 4 platforms) to take some pressure off Union, I think this wouldn't actually be a bad idea. That area is emerging as the de facto tourist strip in the city (HHOF, ACC, Ripley's, the Dome, and the CN Tower), there's a range of hotels nearby, it's transit accessible, and it might help the convention centre compete with more 'fun' locales.
Click to expand...

+1
 
I guess it depends if "one component of a larger development scheme" would satisfy OLG. I would object a huge purpose-built year round commercial casino thing. They're talking about the gambling floor extending across the rail tracks. No specific mention of how big it would be. Just looking at a satellite photo -- if they cover the entire length of the tracks, it doubles the width of MTCC North. That's probably about the same floor area as the Skydome has. And they're supposed to put condos and office buildings there too? Hmm... I guess it's an experiment to see if there's any demand for residential/office space above a casino.
 
A downtown casino is a dumb idea. There is no need for it. It certainly does not help the city, and has a strong chance of damaging the downtown economy. To kill off a convention centre in the name of a gambling establishment is a self-satisfying effort for the OLG, but offers nothing for Toronto. Any assumed job gain in a casino is equalled by a very high number of job losses outside the casino.

Again, casinos are the weakest and most uncreative means of revenue generation. A downtown casino is blind to the downtown it is situated in.
 
Looks like the casino proposal is getting a bit more serious, with mention of three towers - office, residential and a hotel - and a park being built over the railways.

"Sources indicated on Thursday night that the project would expand the Metro Toronto Convention Centre and, beyond a casino, would involve building a new hotel and residential units on the west side of the complex. The development would require the demolition of two existing buildings on the site, one occupied by Royal Bank of Canada, one source said.

A source said the project would include three towers, office and residential buildings and a hotel. The office and residential components would go ahead, but at a slower pace, if the casino bid is unsuccessful.

Oxford bought the Metro Toronto Convention Centre last year from Canada Lands Company. The site runs from Simcoe Street to John Street, and sits next to other properties that Oxford owns including 315 Front St. – in which Royal Bank of Canada is the lead tenant – and 325 Front St.

A number of large U.S. casino operators have expressed interest in a Toronto site and sources say that Las Vegas Sands Corp., one of at least three Nevada-based gambling empires that have come forward since the province announced the plan, is interested in the Front street location."

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news...roject-could-include-a-casino/article4608014/

Press Release:

http://www.marketwire.com/press-rel...ld-scale-project-downtown-toronto-1712716.htm

Photos from their press release:

20121011-oxfordplace800.jpg

oxfordplacelabels.jpg
oxfordplacepark.jpg
 

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Decking over the rail corridor - check
Complete redevelopment of the existing MTCC - check
Complete redevelopment of the RBC block - check

I don't think there is much more to ask for. Speaking of the "illustrative renderings" - am I the only one seeing a hint of Rogers Stirk Harbour?

AoD

PS: So it's actually a Foster project, according to the press release!
 
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AlvinofDiaspar said:
Decking over the rail corridor - check
Complete redevelopment of the existing MTCC - check
Complete redevelopment of the RBC block - check

I don't think there is much more to ask for. Speaking of the "illustrative renderings" - am I the only one seeing a hint of Rogers Stirk Harbour?

AoD
Click to expand...

I thought the exact same thing upon viewing the rendering of the park showing the base of one of the towers. I think I see cross-bracing.
 
agoraflaneur said:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news...roject-could-include-a-casino/article4608014/
Click to expand...

Gee, are you guys seeing the same shrink:confused:

Toronto Councillor Adam Vaughan, said the addition of a gambling facility in the downtown core would discourage other developments. “It will be like a bomb going off in the downtown core,”

gristle said:
A downtown casino is a dumb idea. There is no need for it. It certainly does not help the city, and has a strong chance of damaging the downtown economy. .
Click to expand...


Anyways, lets look at the big picture before being so critical..looks like they are proposing going overtop the rail corridor and decking the tracks with parkland

Oxford Place has been master-planned by world renowned architects Foster + Partners, whose previous projects include: Abu Dhabi's Masdar City Development; Washington's Smithsonian Institute; Hong Kong's Chek Lap Kok airport; the Beijing Airport; and London's Canary Wharf Underground Station.

 
Cancel the casino part, that amount of hotel rooms would flood the downtown market. A casino also has no place downtown. Go ahead with the office and residential parts though. This could be up to 4 new 200+m! (But preferably 2)

These look to be in the 290-310m range as well.. But knowing our luck it'll be 295m again.
 
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I can't help but point out this project is aligned to the T with the Mirvish-Gehry one along the N-S axis - the architectual dynamic between the two could be most interesting.

AoD
 
Ten percent of a project this size is probably around 600,000 square feet. Casinos kill downtowns, there has never been a single successful downtown casino that boosted the downtown economy. If you want one at exhibition place, that's fine with me, but not one in the heart of the city here.
 
Wow! This is truly construction on a stupendous scale. (Signs of impending real estate collapse...?) This is like adding another Eaton Centre (1 million square feet of retail) and BCE Place (2+ million square feet of office space). It's a striking rendering, and those have got to be four massive buildings. My main question is how this addresses Front Street. All of the renderings are from the south, so that isn't very clear. Is the park at the Front Street grade level, or is it up several floors? If the latter, is it likely to be as underused as most podium parks? If it's at grade, this is a very tower-in-a-park design for the heart of downtown. I love the fact that the rail corridor is covered, and I hope they take the opportunity to ensure that there will be room for a more efficient track alignment. I assume that the existing underground South Building of the Convention Centre will be saved and the new building will be built on top? I'm equally blown away by the amount of hotel space. We would lose the Intercontinental so this isn't all a net addition, and the convention centre area is obviously most desirable for big hotels, but this is continuing a pretty unprecedented hotel building boom. Perhaps one tower will be a higher-end brand like Intercontinental and the other will be more mid-range (say, Sheraton).

edit: Oh, and this "Casinos kill downtowns" business is a bit ridiculous. By that logic, virtually every central city in Europe and Asia should be dead. I'd say that a casino would be quite a good way to bring 24-hour life to a complex that might otherwise be a little sleepy on evenings and weekends without conventions.
 
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