Toronto Pinnacle on Adelaide | 144.47m | 46s | Pinnacle | Hariri Pontarini

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Mike in TO

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Location
Downtown Toronto
SW Corner of Adelaide and John: Pinnacle International

  • Hariri Pontarini Architects
  • Site currently a parking lot with a heritage building (Fox & Fiddle) at corner of Adelaide and John
  • Plan is to relocate heritage building to south end of site, to directly abut another historic building to the south
  • The heritage building has a blank wall facing Adelaide, architect wants to re-animate Adelaide and the relocation also creates a short street wall with a couple evenly scaled historic structures. The relocation also creates seperation from the Bell Lightbox/Festival Tower development
  • 42s tower planned at north end of site on Adelaide street
  • 140m to top of mechanical (130m to top of residential)
  • 43m seperation from Festival Tower
  • 'L' shaped podium abutting widened laneway at west end of site (widened laneway also adjacent to 21 Widmer proposal by Daniels)
  • The density is pushed back from John St. corridor
  • Attempt to create open public space on John St.
  • Could be new park space or public plaza
  • Architect wants the new space to become part of emerging "cultural corridor" on John St.
  • Commercial/retail space to front both new park/plaza and onto laneway
  • Potential hotel function in the podium
  • Floorplates range from 975sqm tappering back to 925sqm at the crown
  • ~450 units
 
The character of the Entertainment District is going to change when all these condos are completed. I'm sure it will be more upscale, and less bratty suburban kids. Which is good, cause I don't like dealing with kids when I'm at the bar anyways.

Also...

Is it just me or is the scale of these projects in the Entertainment District a bit above the norm for Toronto???

I'm thinking Ritz, Tiff, SLT, 300 front, all of which are immense buildings.
 
wow! the number of projects in the entertainment district is just getting to be so huge that its hard to keep track of them all! I guess these continued new announcements mean there is no downturn in the condo market... or that there are some really foolish developers out there. Where are all the people coming from to fill these?
 
Don't know if i'm the only one but i'm a bit worried about how all these massive buildings will shape the neighborhood. This is a great area of 10 story factory buildings and while I'm not a nimby by far, I can't help think that all these 40 story towers are a bit much. I think I would have preferred most of these developments be some beautiful mid-rise structures but at least we can hope that these have an architectural quality that makes up for the scale.
 
thats a good point, though I am most worried when they tear down heritage type buildings to replace them with high rises... most of these projects currently on the board are being built over existing parking lots. This project is saving the heritage building, though moving in to a different part of the lot.
 
Ooohh.. Nice! Right across the street from Hooters. Google Map

I like how they plan on relocating the heritage building south instead of some weird attempt to integrate it into the façade of the new building.

Yet another surface parking lot bites the dust!
 
The Duke and the Fox and Fiddle will become hopefully charming little pubs sandwiched between these 2 condos. Should be an interesting effect.
 
The scale of these buildings worries me too. Tall buildings rarely (never?) make for a neighbourhood condusive for outdoor cafes, pedestrian strolls or 'charm.'

The other day I was stolling around the financial district taking in the various projects etc. I worked my way over to St Lawrence Market and was struck by how wonderful the scale of the neighbourhood was compared with the financial district. I could see (and feel) the sky and sun, the buildings were on a 'friendlier' pedestrian scale and the open sky just felt right.

I am having a hard time articulating this but I believe, despite how much some of us love 'tall' buildings, that they almost never produce decent neighbourhoods (and tend to destroy decent neighbourhoods). This is what is wrong with buildings in the Distillery District, this is why Yorkville is changing (and probably not for the better) and why the entertainment district, if cast in the shadows of too many 35 and 40 storey buildings, will not be an area anybody will want to stroll around in ten years from now.
 
the thing is with toronto the buildings are so close and jammed intogehter. so impossible to have sun in the financial district. kinda sucks its nice buy its all cast by shadow.
i think soon toronto will start developing the skyline even more but lots of dark areas in downtown toronto.
 
I think it will work out just fine. No reason tall buildings can't mix in with shorter heritage type buildings. But then I support the Distillery project as well.
 
Yeah, it doesn't seem to hurt downtown Manhattan. We have a mix of dense skyscrapers and stretches of European-style low-mid rise neighbourhoods.
 
Take a stroll in Greenwich Village or even Soho and you will notice the difference between those neighbourhoods and downtown Manhattan (which people tend to flock out of after work hours are over).
 
Well, I'd consider this to be density spreading outward from the downtown core.

Those types of mid-rise neighbourhoods will still exist, pushed further out to where there are two storey buildings right now.
 
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