Toronto EQ Bank Tower | 105.18m | 23s | First Gulf | Sweeny &Co

A large part of what makes this neighbourhood so special is its mid-rise built form. The height limits put in place in the 1970's on this area have protected it from high-rise banalification. I think this proposal is going to receive a lot of pushback from city planning (and rightfully so).

The Globe and Mail Centre may use a lot of high quality glazing, but it sticks out like a sore thumb. It also sets an unfortunate precedent.
 
An unfortunate precedent? The Globe and Mail building is an outstanding and welcome addition to the 'hood.

25 Ontario Street is pretty massive for its surroundings but I'm all for it. More is coming down the road and let's face it, it's going to be higher than two or three stories. I'm not a fan of yet more cool glass as proposed in the render but the massing is appropriate and the angles are cool.
 
ksun said:
Yes, I don't think this building is inappropriately huge for the neighbourhood. It looks huge because the nearby buildings are inappropriately small for the downtown of a large metropolis of 6M. I think in many cases we should stop considering whether a building is too tall/big for its surroundings, but rather whether it is suitable for our future vision of the area. This particular location is 5 minutes by transit to the CBD and the central waterfront, and it is laughable to think a 18s is "too big". If we keep comparing new proposals with the surrounding buildings which were built when Toronto was a village, then the city can never really grow, can it.
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And within 20 years there could be two subway stops on Queen within a short walking distance. If anything they could go a little higher.
 
torontologist said:
A large part of what makes this neighbourhood so special is its mid-rise built form. The height limits put in place in the 1970's on this area have protected it from high-rise banalification. I think this proposal is going to receive a lot of pushback from city planning (and rightfully so).

The Globe and Mail Centre may use a lot of high quality glazing, but it sticks out like a sore thumb. It also sets an unfortunate precedent.
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I like dense European style midrise blocks too, however, let's not pretend the area is something like that. There are some midrises (let's say 5 to 10 stories) but in reality, barring a few new construction in the past 5 years, most of the buildings nearby are 4 stories or lower, and I call hardly call that "a midrise neighbourhood".

In all seriousness, while we should always keep protection of old heritage buildings in mind, a large part of downtown, particularly downtown east, can be a lot taller and denser. Downtown East (of Jarvis) is a bit too much sleepy and boring. It could use a lot more commercial buildings and add a lot more people and business. Midrise neighbourhoods are indeed good, but let's be honest, developers are not going to build those 1.3 km from King/Bay.
 
torontologist said:
A large part of what makes this neighbourhood so special is its mid-rise built form. The height limits put in place in the 1970's on this area have protected it from high-rise banalification. I think this proposal is going to receive a lot of pushback from city planning (and rightfully so).

The Globe and Mail Centre may use a lot of high quality glazing, but it sticks out like a sore thumb. It also sets an unfortunate precedent.
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This stretch of Adelaide, much like Richmond, is a thoroughfare where pedestrians are mostly outnumbered by vehicles. To me it doesn't seem like part of any neighbourhood.

With Ivory now complete, and Axiom, East Fifty-Five, East United and 48 power street on the horizon, the height proposed here is negligible. Is it really worth fighting for a few storeys/metres?
 
I also like how the size and look of the Globe and Mail building, and I'm happy to see this section develop. I can't wait until that Honda/Ford dealership gets gone too really.

I like this 25 Ontario building, just from their drawings, it looks *too* big compared to it's neighbours. Not sure if it's some weird perspective the were going for, but I'm sure it's not going to be that imposing in real life.
 
I think I rather like this. I do not think art is too large for this area. It is only 18-22 floors which I think is appropriate (and not 65-70). This is an area that will only get denser as time moves along. This is basically right downtown after all. In the past this area seemed to have been forgotten as it is on the east side of the CBD therefore seen as less desirable. This has changed and there is no going back. ( I live on the east side so this isn't said with any malice)
 
LUVIT! said:
I think I rather like this. I do not think art is too large for this area. It is only 18-22 floors which I think is appropriate (and not 65-70). This is an area that will only get denser as time moves along. This is basically right downtown after all. In the past this area seemed to have been forgotten as it is on the east side of the CBD therefore seen as less desirable. This has changed and there is no going back. ( I live on the east side so this isn't said with any malice)
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As a DRP member said it might be better a few floors shorter and don't forget that commercial floors are higher than residential ones.
 
I agree entirely with the DRP re: the lobby being too small / underwhelming for an office tower. The best / closest example of what I'd like to see here would be Foster's Hearst Tower in NYC:

img5.jpg
 
ProjectEnd said:
I agree entirely with the DRP re: the lobby being too small / underwhelming for an office tower.
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They are using the footprint of the existing Listed building as the new lobby so there are limits on how large it could be. The DRP suggestion was to have a two-level lobby and use not only existing building but also the first level of the new building. Somewhat like your photo above. Not a bad idea and the architects seemed fairly interested
 
ProjectEnd said:
I agree entirely with the DRP re: the lobby being too small / underwhelming for an office tower. The best / closest example of what I'd like to see here would be Foster's Hearst Tower in NYC:

img5.jpg
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One of the best lobbies I've ever been in. At any given time, there are a number of guests of people who work in that building in the lobby or sitting in the lobby cafe just to see it. I think the split level could be a great solution given the constrained footprint here.

In general, seems (at least based on the frontpage story) like a good example of how DRP feedback can and should work.
 
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