Toronto Ïce Condominiums at York Centre | 234.07m | 67s | Lanterra | a—A

Nice pics... Of all the new projects going up in TO, I have the biggest expectations of this one... It could be an amazing addition with the right attention to detail...
 
Yes... the proportions (slim!), the unique design (the podium and the wraparound juliette balconies, curved yet boxy shape, etc.), etc., have made this one of my favourite projects in Toronto at the moment. Really looking forward to seeing it come together.
 
...But your comment about the market at the time leads back to my comment (and years of previous comments by other people) about how getting stuff built quickly in this area has always seemed more important than stopping to consider what stuff we're building...it was throw down some relaxed zoning, hit 'cheetah speed,' and hope for the best. Hopefully Ice will be a highlight, though with Infinity being a lowlight next door, how can Ice not be? :)

I agree. There is definitely a frontier town mentality in these parts.
 
March 20, 2012


See the fragile charms of a tranquil visit to Harbourfront wiped away in mere minutes! Nothing says "Thou Shalt Not Pass" quite like the Gardiner-Lakeshore-York intersection. Unless, of course, it's Gardiner-Lakeshore-Yonge.

Has there been any serious discussion within the city on how to deal with this issue recently? It seems a shame to do the whole Queens Quay renovation without also fixing the issue of how to get there. I walk from Union station down to harbourfront every day on my way home from work, and it's just nasty....the York st. train underpass more-so than the Yonge st. one with unidentifiable crap peeling off the ceiling and about 6 inches of dirt and crud caking the corners of the sidewalk.

I know there's a lot of talk about what to do with the Gardiner, but is there an ongoing discussion on building something to let pedestrians bypass the tunnels under the train tracks?
 
ttk:

Well, there will be a PATH extension to the new RBC Waterpark Place, and I believe there is a plan to create a York Street promenade with minor improvements to the York/Lakeshore intersection:

http://www.toronto.ca/legdocs/mmis/2007/te/bgrd/backgroundfile-8727.pdf

As to the underpass - well, that's part of the whole Union Station redo, which will provide better N-S connections than what exist now.

AoD
 
Last edited:
Thanks Alvin. That looks like it's good news for York st. south of the rail tracks, but unless there are some details buried in the the report, it doesn't really deal with the rail underpass itself. Even if it gets cleaned up it will still remain an even bigger psychological barrier than the Gardiner, especially if the off-ramp gets moved to Lower Simcoe. I guess what I'm asking is if there have been any creative ideas on how to deal with the underpasses themselves.

Sorry for taking this off topic.
 
ttk77:

Not sure about the specific underpass on the west side of York and whether it will be improved as part of the Union Station redo - but looking at the plans, there will be a new "teamway" on the eastern side of York Street and the "porosity" of the station proper means one can basically walk through it in a relatively pleasant environment (i.e. a mall)

See map (image 15/16)
http://urbantoronto.ca/database/projects/union-station-revitalization

AoD
 
Driving by on the Gardiner today it looked like they were getting prepped for window installation on the west side of the taller tower
 
Driving by on the Gardiner today it looked like they were getting prepped for window installation on the west side of the taller tower

I can confirm this. On about ten floors they have the initial strips of metal secured to the roof and floor of units on the west side of the tower which will secure window wall when it begins to go up.
 
No way, as far as I know. It will be window wall, but the wrap-around balcony glass (which continues the majority of the circumference of the building, even when there are not balconies, to create Juliette balconies) will smooth out the look of the tower.
 
I can confirm this. On about ten floors they have the initial strips of metal secured to the roof and floor of units on the west side of the tower which will secure window wall when it begins to go up.

Visible on the east side of the tower as well.

6894537872_843ce4e162_b.jpg
 

Back
Top