SP!RE said:
It's more about $$$ than not rocking the boat.
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It's likely a combination of both things. Toronto is famously conservative in its design sense. The ROM crystal and Umbra store sent more than a few Torontonians right over the edge. Granted, the ROM cladding isn't good enough, but it could have been clad in titanium and they'd still have gone ballistic.
 
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AlvinofDiaspar said:
Putting a 50+s tower on a spot right beside a heritage structure 1/10th the height is rocking the boat - staggering and rearranging the balcony profiles is anything but in comparison.

AoD
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Not realizing that Yonge Street is going to be rebuilt far taller is naive, quite frankly. There's going to be a 200m tower there whether people want Toronto frozen in time or not. At this juncture, the discussion is about design. Discussions about what scale would go here were answered a long time ago for anyone observant of how the city is developing/growing.
 
isaidso said:
It's likely a combination of both things. Toronto is famously conservative in its design sense. The ROM crystal and Umbra store sent more than a few Torontonians right over the edge. Granted, the ROM cladding isn't good enough, but it could have been clad in titanium and they'd still have gone ballistic.
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I don't agree. I don't recall any criticism with the Umbra site, only a few cheap pot-shots about the colour. The ROM Crystal was widely criticized for it's poor quality cladding and some of the spaces within however the design was almost universally applauded here.

isaidso said:
Not realizing that Yonge Street is going to be rebuilt far taller is naive, quite frankly. There's going to be a 200m tower there whether people want Toronto frozen in time or not. At this juncture, the discussion is about design. Discussions about what scale would go here were answered a long time ago for anyone observant of how the city is developing/growing.
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The North Yonge Street Planning Framework is a game changer, thank goodness. The sure-to-be-disaster 460 Yonge and 501 projects are a "go" and that's where it ends. Should this planning tool pass Council in September it will bring back sane planning to the north, central downtown area.
 
dt_toronto_geek said:
I don't agree. I don't recall any criticism with the Umbra site, only a few cheap pot-shots about the colour. The ROM Crystal was widely criticized for it's poor quality cladding and some of the spaces within however the design was almost universally applauded here.



The North Yonge Street Planning Framework is a game changer, thank goodness. The sure-to-be-disaster 460 Yonge and 501 projects are a "go" and that's where it ends. Should this planning tool pass Council in September it will bring back sane planning to the north, central downtown area.
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since when is 501 a "go"?
 
dt_toronto_geek said:
The North Yonge Street Planning Framework is a game changer, thank goodness. The sure-to-be-disaster 460 Yonge and 501 projects are a "go" and that's where it ends. Should this planning tool pass Council in September it will bring back sane planning to the north, central downtown area.
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At least 460 and 501 Yonge were tempered by the DRP. Imagine a cheap knock-off of One Bloor and two faceless monoliths gracing Yonge- 460 Yonge now at least has a design that doesn't look like the inside of someone's colon, and 501 Yonge no longer dominates its surroundings.
 
i think the market will be what "tempers" the development in the yonge corridor - not that demand will fall, just that infill spots in the eastern and southern downtown are plentiful and likely to come to market at the lower price points that we expect in the wake of the government's moves to further restrict lending. who wants to pay top dollar to live mid-yonge when they can save 100k to live in a comparable space on church or king west?
 
A $5.5 million Section 37 agreement seems a bit optimistic... wonder if this amount was negotiated between city staff and Canderel to get the project moving, or if staff are just hoping to get lucky. If the latter, I wouldn't be surprised if Canderel appeals the proposed S37 contribution to the Board.
 
ThomasJ said:
since when is 501 a "go"?
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It's a "go" in terms of it's close to finally being approved and will be built. Unlike, say, the Gloucester at Yonge project which is on hold.
 
What I recall reading is the 30 storey project on the north side of Gloucester St. is on hold until market conditions improve, I don't know about the Yonge St. project between Gloucester & Dundonald Sts. but I can't see them getting 49 stories.
 
saynotofaux said:
A $5.5 million Section 37 agreement seems a bit optimistic... wonder if this amount was negotiated between city staff and Canderel to get the project moving, or if staff are just hoping to get lucky. If the latter, I wouldn't be surprised if Canderel appeals the proposed S37 contribution to the Board.
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Section 37's do not get appealed to the Board. What might happen is that the applicant refuses to comply with staff's recommendation (which comes primarily from the Councillor) for the S37 quantum, resulting in a negative report from Planning, which subsequently gets appealed to the Board (like Menkes at 365 Church). Once there is a positive staff report, it means that the "deal is done", and that the applicant is in agreement with staff.
 
thecharioteer said:
Section 37's do not get appealed to the Board. What might happen is that the applicant refuses to comply with staff's recommendation (which comes primarily from the Councillor) for the S37 quantum, resulting in a negative report from Planning, which subsequently gets appealed to the Board (like Menkes at 365 Church). Once there is a positive staff report, it means that the "deal is done", and that the applicant is in agreement with staff.
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Thanks for clarifying.
 
isaidso:

Not realizing that Yonge Street is going to be rebuilt far taller is naive, quite frankly. There's going to be a 200m tower there whether people want Toronto frozen in time or not. At this juncture, the discussion is about design. Discussions about what scale would go here were answered a long time ago for anyone observant of how the city is developing/growing.
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Considering the staff report is supportive of the project in itself, I am not sure if one should read that as a carte blanche for the rest of Yonge. Beyond that, staff support does not equate to superiority in terms of urban design and "fit" with the heritage structure.

At this junction, the discussion should be about how poor the design is.

AoD
 
ProjectEnd said:
Almost assuredly (though sadly) remove. There is next to no way that Canderel will replace the 5-6 units along here. They will most likely be consolidated into 2-3 larger format stores (unfortunately).
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I'm not sure I share that sense of loss - the retail that exists there is hardly a draw for pedestrians along Yonge street. Much of the retail from College up until Bloor (along Yonge) is subpar. I firmly believe that these new building projects along the route will breathe new life into the pedestrian environment.
 
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