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Waterfront: Lower Yonge Precinct Plan

Does Toronto really need a sugar refinery, owned by a US company at our central waterfront? It is very hard for residents to enjoy the waterfront when there is a giant concrete factory, big pipes and a huge chimney sitting by.
 
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Didn't stop anyone from enjoying Sugar Beach in spite of the fact that it is literally right across the street from it - but no one seem to be enjoying the stretch between Yonge and York where there are no big pipes or chimneys. Perhaps it is hard to enjoy some parts of the waterfront because there is no "there" there and not because of Redpath?

AoD
 
Present development pressures really show the wisdom of maintaining employment lands, even if those lands lay fallow for decades. I have no love for the sugar factory. The smell of refining sugar is nasty. However, I think it appropriate for the city to bias their decisions towards existing industrial sites, and towards the re-industrialization (it that were economically viable) of lands currently set aside as employment lands.
 
balenciaga said:
Does Toronto really need a sugar refinery, owned by a US company at our central waterfront? It is very hard for residents to enjoy the waterfront when there is a giant concrete factory, big pipes and a huge chimney sitting by.
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This question has been discussed to death in several threads and the consensus seems to be that we need employment downtown, they were there first and, as noted above, having it there actually adds interest to Sugar Beach. (And some of us actually like the sugar smell!)
 
And of course, the fact that Sugar Beach is called "Sugar Beach" at all practically justifies-through-celebration its continuing existence, however continuing its existence is...
 
I usually wouldn't endorse this sort of thing, but looking at the enormity of the site, I think it could work as a good place for a huge secondary downtown mall.

Now, before I get shot, hung up and left out to dry, let me suggest that such a thing should only go forward if you could get a superior architect, and the place would be beautiful and exciting in it's own right - especially on the street and not only because of what is inside. If people aren't happy to walk along it's Queen's Quay face on it's own, then it should be a no-go.

The site is walled off from the city along it's entire north face by impenetrable traffic infrastructure, which causes a good deal of noise and vibration. No new links will be being made through this. So -
People would like to walk from Harbour and Yonge to Sugar Beach, but the walk is currently drab. With the communities planned for East of Sherbourne, anything that will help people get from the Yonge-Union central area eastward in comfort could be helpful.

A long interior enclosed diagonal walkway from Yonge-Harbour to QQ-Sherbourne could be popular.
The streetfront along QQ would have to be variegated enough in appearance, of moderate height and made lively with retail and residential, that'd be fine as an exterior street independent of the mall behind it.
There's be rooms for some ultra-tall towers at the Yonge end (the Toronto Star building could be left as is, or demolished and re-incorporated into a new 1 Yonge) with a foundational building size that tapers down to small midrises toward Sherbourne.
It could easily incorporate the planned for cosmological centre, new planetarium, omnimax, IMAX, a waterpark, a year-'round park, etc., etc., all sorts of fun stuff.
It would be a lot more roomy than the Eaton Centre, currently usually jammed to capacity.

It being a few steps away from a subway stop would be a slight depressant, but with a main entrance on Yonge, at the foot of Yonge, it would have a strong chance of success - esp. from the new east and west waterfront neighbourhoods.

http://urbantoronto.ca/forum/showthread.php/17472-Fantasy-Renderings/page4
 
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balenciaga said:
Does Toronto really need a sugar refinery, owned by a US company at our central waterfront? It is very hard for residents to enjoy the waterfront when there is a giant concrete factory, big pipes and a huge chimney sitting by.
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I agree 100%.

The stench coming from that factory is unbearable. I want to wear a gas mask, however I simply avoid shopping at the Loblaws there because of the smell.

And by the way, I have a sweet tooth and love sugar. It has nothing to do with the smell coming out of the factory.
 
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AlvinofDiaspar said:
Didn't stop anyone from enjoying Sugar Beach in spite of the fact that it is literally right across the street from it - but no one seem to be enjoying the stretch between Yonge and York where there are no big pipes or chimneys. Perhaps it is hard to enjoy some parts of the waterfront because there is no "there" there and not because of Redpath?

AoD
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+1. Could not have said it any better than this so I'll quite it for emphasis.
 
The stretch between Yonge and York is one of the worst sections of the city. A canyon of bland condos and office buildings where you would have no way of knowing you're on waterfront property if you'd never been there before. There are essentially no set-backs for the towers and nothing in that area is human scaled. Retail in the area is about as uninspiring as it gets. The section from Yonge to Parliament may be uglier at the moment, but at least it's pretty much a blank slate. It will look great in 10-15-20 years even if Redpath stays, while I don't see what can reasonably be done to make the stretch from Yonge to York an inviting space.
 
AoD, thanks for posting the link to the city doc.

I'll agree employment lands are important.
I'll agree Redpath is an interesting use. I find it mildly entertaining watching the freighters docking and the unloading of the sugar cane. Sorry some don't like the smell.

The Ashbridges bay area and bottom of the Humber have smells that I don't like. Molsons on Fleet street is now closed and had a stronger smell than Redpath does, if I recall correctly.
 
It smells ... sweet.

You can smell it all around the area ... at Loblaws, at the beach, walking around. I don't find it unpleasant, but it's definitely there.
 
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