I suspect that this building's foundation will rest on piles, not directly on bedrock. Most condo's foundations go to bedrock, as they have a small footprint, and parking requirements drive the need for deep basements. For this condo, the site is huge, and two or three layers of parking will...
If this was a community with a strong legacy network of Victorian homes and lovely gardens, I'd agree that height and shadowing would be a significant issue. However, this area is dominated by parking lots and a gritty mishmash of commercial and residential buildings: even with the Cathedrals...
A sinkhole opened up on Yonge next to this site (30 inches deep and 15 meters long). You can actually see it starting to form in the road cracks in Marcanadian's photo above. I suspect activity on this site may have altered a local accumulation of ground water. If enough water was removed...
Yonge street puts full humanity on show, excepting the upper 1% perhaps. It's changing though: I've been in this area from childhood, and I think it's far less gritty and fully human than a decade ago. The increase in new residents will only put more pressure on: people reporting crime or...
Loblaws made a great business decision building out the MLG site: so many customers, both current and potential.
One issue with this condo (and others) will be congestion: Church and Carlton are already choked most hours of the day. I've noticed that the eliminated street parking on...
The cladding is special - and likely challenging to reproduce or match (unlike brick). As they have to put new surfaces on, I suppose they were stuck removing it.
They painted the West wall, and my camera refused to shoot it. Hideous - the colour you'd choose for a high school hallway. At least the East wall is still interesting.
Emerald cedars are not especially hardy in our zone - they get desiccated in our winters - and dryness is the death of them. When I see them in Toronto, I know the landscaper is presenting an idea of a place, not the reality of the place.
I peeked in during construction: only the facade was kept. The interior was demolished and entirely rebuilt.
On the subject of gentrification, this is a normal cycle of rebuilding. To maintain character businesses like a museum in rebuilt commercial stock, you need substantial public funds...
Again, servicing of the condo and remaining small businesses requires some form of utility laneway. It's not like the Victoria Street or Gould street pedestrian-only areas which don't interfere with delivery and garbage pickup.
As practical as an elevated system may seem from a transportation point of view, the shading under these bridges kills off all plant life. The Don Valley is a long linear park - it's an important asset to the whole public. I'd rather any flood protection to focus on river mouth work.