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caltrane74
Senior Member
You can't think that there is going to be a vacant lot at Yonge and Bloor for any extended amount of time.....
..... even if you are thinking out of your ass.
taal
Senior Member
No there won't be i don't think you guys realize what would happen if this project were for whatever reason not to go ahead (I don't think that's the case just to make that clear). As evident by the separate applications what I think we'll see is that that podium may go ahead without the rest of the project, is that at all possible?
cdr108
Senior Member
How reliant is this project on the hotel portion for financing/economic viability, etc?
It's been almost 1/2 year since they first indicated that a European hotelier was going to be participating, yet nothing has happened.
It's been almost 1/2 year since they first indicated that a European hotelier was going to be participating, yet nothing has happened.
Tewder
Senior Member
Why must every building be a box, and why must a building that is not a box be vomit-inducing? Is that the extent of what is acceptible?
bgd
New Member
hotel is generally riskier to develop than residential or office, because you don't have any long term leases or agreements of purchase/sale. effectively, hotels offer 1 day leases.
casaguy
Senior Member
Well, not every round/rounded building elicits such a negative emotion... but Sapphire Tower certainly did for me.
Save for possibly City Hall, The original L Tower or the all glass Hydro building south of Queen's Park, I'm having trouble coming up with round or rounded modern high rises that appeal to me personally. Any rounded portion of a building often seems to be a rather unmotivated portion of the design as if the architect was instructed to infuse some whimsy into their original concept.
The city of Toronto is full of many stunning "boxes"... and a lot of drab ones too. Adding a curvy supertall to Yonge & Bloor doesn't make it any better than a highrise that entails only 90 degree angles. Personally, I think a strong tall box would make a much stronger visual anchor to the so-called "most important intersection in the world" which is at the centre of a simple and straight grid pattern of roadways.
As a fan of the current 1 Bloor design, maybe, in the end, a round one would be better... but I have yet to see a design (from any city collection) that I'd prefer to see at Yonge and Bloor.
Urban Shocker
Doyenne
In her Integral House column, Lisa Rochon talked of avoiding the "pornography of an excessively undulating line". I agree with casaguy about the "infusion of whimsy" quality of curves - adding them as easy-sell eyecandy. I think it can mask lazy design and has become a cliche in condo design ( "sexy curves" ) especially. It obviously depends on how well it's done - the Round Room at the Carlu for instance, or the billowing glass front to the AGO's Galleria Italia unfolding against the sky as you walk along the north side of Dundas, or the subtle curve of the slatted wood screen in the City Room which echoes the proportions of the egg-shaped performance hall even before you enter it, being a few examples.
Davin
New Member
I think that a building like Chicago's Aqua is a good solution to the whole box or curve delema. The building itself is still a box but it's got pleanty of cuves on it. It's also about the same hight as 1 Bloor.
Blovertis
Active Member
Why not? The site was occupied by a crappy two storey building for decades before a solid development proposal came along.
Before the current building boom, there were innumerable prime lots that sat empty (except for cars) for 20-30 years.
Remember: Perfection is the enemy of the good.
Observer Walt
Senior Member
I think it's safe to say that they don't demolish buildings to appease "flippers", whoever they may be. They demolished the old buildings to make way for construction of the new building.
I am glad to see the last few posts in this thread actually getting back to a discussion of the merits of the project. I think more people come to this forum for such intelligent discussions, than for wild speculation and nonsensical comments. Unfortunately this thread especially seems to have attracted quite a few of those.
SP!RE
°°°°°°
They were doing pile driving Thursday night, at about 3am. This is my own first-hand report.
Blovertis
Active Member
Pile driving at 3 a.m.? I know this is an eye-witness account, but aren't there noise by-laws that prevent that? People live around there.
androiduk
Senior Member
It's totally illegal unless it's an emergency. And if they put piles in they did a good job of covering them up today.
Dichotomy
Banned
Oh, PUHLEASE, I endured 4 years of demolition while Wellelsey hospital was torn down, including their working on Canada Day. How about the gawdawful BEEP-BEEP-BEEP of a power shovel being backed off a float at 4 a.m.? Who you gonna call?
Like Kyle Rae returns his calls.
I finally moved when I found out about Verve and 500 Sherbourne - no f'ing way I was going to put up with 4 more years of that, too.
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