Albertasaurus
Active Member
Aesthetics aside, it will be nice to have some of these conversions plugged into the +15 network. And the point about the pattern bearing a resemblance to the profile of that +15 is making me like it slightly more.
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Unknown User
New Member
Is the Rio still open? Feel like I should go once in my life before it's shuttered.
KensingtonLurker
New Member
I don't hate it, but don't love it. It should be pretty burried in the skyline. The murals at street level probably make things more interesting there.
This also feels a little closer to the actual core (aside from Paliser), as other conversions are more West End and Eau Claire.
We all want to see palaces built, but that won't work for PeopleFirst, as they offer a decent amount of units at a little below market rates. These less than visually attractive projects can bring the people downtown that demand amenities. Those amenities could be theatres, a downtown grogery store, places that are open after 7PM etc.
As those amenities arrive, it now becomes mere attractive for those that will pay for a beautiful building to get built.
This also feels a little closer to the actual core (aside from Paliser), as other conversions are more West End and Eau Claire.
We all want to see palaces built, but that won't work for PeopleFirst, as they offer a decent amount of units at a little below market rates. These less than visually attractive projects can bring the people downtown that demand amenities. Those amenities could be theatres, a downtown grogery store, places that are open after 7PM etc.
As those amenities arrive, it now becomes mere attractive for those that will pay for a beautiful building to get built.
badc0ffee
Active Member
That's a good point.
Urb
Active Member
Agreed, this helps to get the ball rolling. What we really need is tax incentives for new residential development downtown. This is very common in major US cities.
maestro
Senior Member
This could look so much better for absolutely no fucking cost. Just rearrange the panels from the ice cream cone/ mountain theme to something more tasteful. Sure, we all want more people downtown. The city will attract more people downtown with honey than vinegar. Downtown Toronto can get away with being ugly. They have enough people living there already. Downtown Calgary in suburbia has a reputation to reverse.
P.S. Ugly is vinegar.
FCC1982
Active Member
Like WTF ?
Thread for discussion on this project
It's one bland building replacing another, so I don't care too much about the looks, but sticking to one color, with a second color as accent like the two brown tones would have been better.
DiscoStu
Active Member
I honestly just prefer the Before.
UrbanWarrior
Senior Member
In this case, I don’t really get the disdain of the new design. Pretty innocuous and if it turns out half decent it will at least be interesting. I’d say the best conversion render we’ve seen other than how Cube turned out.
shermanator
New Member
Well this explains why Spice Cafe shut down earlier this year. Was gutted to see them go.
The West end of downtown is dead and anything that breathes a bit of life into it is good by me. On the +15 almost everything west of 4th street has closed up. 5th and 5th has half their food court shuttered and there's the Marcelo's in AMEC place. That's about all that's left. Hopefully developments like this helps the street level retail as well, which I don't think has been as affected.
The West end of downtown is dead and anything that breathes a bit of life into it is good by me. On the +15 almost everything west of 4th street has closed up. 5th and 5th has half their food court shuttered and there's the Marcelo's in AMEC place. That's about all that's left. Hopefully developments like this helps the street level retail as well, which I don't think has been as affected.
CBBarnett
Senior Member
I do wonder if the long-term viability of the Plus 15 on the west side of downtown will ultimately result in it being pared back here. Seems like a lot of surplus bridges and 2nd floor retail that have spent a decade under-utilized, connecting nearly empty office blocks. Seems to be little of the horizon that could be material enough increase in demand despite a few residential conversions. We are probably looking at a generation of random empty bridges connecting random empty buildings in the west end.
When a bridge or adjacent building is up for serious renewal costs, do we think they might just tear the bridges down?