Charles-Hayden Parking Garage (+2s) COMPLETE

[maestro]

Cresford need to give aA more money to design something other than the current cookie cutter design. Getting very boring with aA designs these days and they need to think more outside the box for not only this tower, but others ones.

aA only has to pull out all ready design drawings for Casa II to make the modification to allow for a taller building as well for P parking. The structural engineer will have more work to do to make sure Casa II design can support an 65-70s tower with a larger base.

This is what aA does and they do it quite well. Every quality firm tends to concentrate on a particular style. Those that don't tend to stink. Superficially, the Casas are cloned glass boxes with wrap around balconies. The details between 1 and 2 are very different. You think these gussied up Kirkor designs take any longer to produce?

 

[interchange42]

dleung at SSP posted this a short time ago:

"Rumour has it that Casa IV is on the way at the parkade between Charles and Hayden. It will have the same wrap-around balcony design as Casa I, II, III and 1 Bloor. At 214m, it will be the 2nd tallest building north of College. Due to the subway occupying half the site, it will have Canada's second robotic parking garage (after Jameson House in Vancouver). Currently in schematic design - can release images in 2-3 months."

With that height, and assuming a similar floor-height as CASA III, it should end up with around 65 or 66 floors.

The Toronto Parking Authority is confirming that the parking garage is closing so they can add two more levels to it, as was approved in 2011. So, if there's any truth to that rumour, it would have to be for another site. So, which site, or is the rumour simply some wild imaginings?

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[adma]

Wow, I like it. I've wanted to see that parking lot bite the dust for years.

Actually, it was a municipal urban-design winner in the 90s, so it's pretty decent and conscientious as above-ground parking goes.

The big annoyance about the present closure, though, is that it (temporarily?) severs the top end of the emerald-necklace subway-ROW pedestrian throughway btw/Bloor and Wellesley...

 

[Josh]

I'm betting it's just an addition to the existing structure - you'd see one of those development application signs on the building if anything else was going to occur. If this was going to be a condo - there'd be no sense in closing the garage until a development application for the site was approved.

 

[interchange42]

As posted already, the TPA has confirmed that it's the approved two-floor extension to the parking garage going ahead, and not a condo.

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[Big Daddy]

That is my go to parking garage. Where shall I park now?

Take the over-crowded subway.

 

[interchange42]

Here's how it looked yesterday evening:

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[Benito]

A bit of action on top.

 

[Benito]

From today.

 

[Benito]

They are working this morning.

 

[Benito]

From today

 

[Benito]

Today.

 

[steveve]

Today:

 

[Benito]

From today.

 

[steveve]

OT, but aside from the building housing the McDonald's / Starbucks, I can't imagine any other structures on this block fronting Yonge worth retaining, or heritage worthy. There was a rumour a while back about a large development here (either replacing this parking garage or another site near it), but whether that was bogus or not, this strip is begging for redevelopment, especially with the behemoth immediately north of it.