King and Queen West, Liberty

[spasongs]

More to come, wha

t a great day out today!!!!!

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y32/spasongs/IM001094.jpg

 

[spasongs]

Lots more to come, including Liberty. Tommorow

 

[spasongs]

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y32/spasongs/IM001110.jpg

 

[spasongs]

http://

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[spasongs]

http://
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y32/spasongs/IM001107.jpg

 

[spasongs]

http://
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[bizorky]

Great tour! Thanks. A really vibrant and eclectic neighbourhood; something always changing, something always new.

 

[AlvinofDiaspar]

Thanks spas!

This must be the sales centre by Alsop!

AoD

 

[baldwin st boy]

A pity alsop couldn't have designed the entire liberty village. As is, it's a dismal failure. With the exception of a few oldies, it could easily be brampton or oakville. Yuck. I'd rather buy a dump north of the drake and live in it shabbily than a cheaply built condo next to possibly the ugliest, cheapest parkette ever built. How not to redevelop a nabe: LV. Embarrassing.

So the new (sub)urbanites have their playground: wqueenw. big deal.

The only bright spot (relatively) is that loft built next to the gas station on king--and it was built 4-5 years ago! Even when Industry was there, I thought the street was cold and windswept. Some things never change.

 

[fiendishlibrarian]

I cannot believe how clean those streets are. Between this thread, and the other two Bloor West photo threads, I am convinced the downtown is being treated better than other parts of town. There isn't a street in North York that comes close to being as clean as King and Queen are in those pics. Even the side streets in my area look like utter shit, with clumps of leaves and garbage everywhere.

 

[billy corgan19982]

I agree that the suburbs have been neglected but sometimes the citizens need to take some initiative (not you personally). Our street has a community clean up 6 times a year and as a result the local parks and streets are virtually spotless. Honestly the only time the street gets dirty is garbage day because the lazy garbage men can’t seem to grasp the concept that garbage goes into the truck not on the street.

 

[Darkstar416]

I think the new Starbucks at Queen & Dovercourt has resulted in a cleaned-up building.

 

[spasongs]

"A pity alsop couldn't have designed the entire liberty village. As is, it's a dismal failure. With the exception of a few oldies, it could easily be brampton or oakville. Yuck. I'd rather buy a dump north of the drake and live in it shabbily than a cheaply built condo next to possibly the ugliest, cheapest parkette ever built. How not to redevelop a nabe: LV. Embarrassing.

So the new (sub)urbanites have their playground: wqueenw. big deal.

The only bright spot (relatively) is that loft built next to the gas station on king--and it was built 4-5 years ago! Even when Industry was there, I thought the street was cold and windswept. Some things never change."

So where do you live that it is so godlike? You forget that it is stark cold winter, Liberty is not DONE yet. The park I think you refer to will look amazing this spring.

You forget that the dump homes north of the Drake ( there are amazing old homes north) are also 6-900 g's. Some of us can not afford that. Though my place on Sudbury is not a palace, it is a lovely home for me over the last four years. It is very well kept in terms of upkeep and landscaping. And after 4 years here I can be happy knowing it's value has risen over $75,000!

Give the area time. Liberty, King and Queen west are really booming with a strong mix of many different people.

When I get the chance I will take more shots of Queen west of Dovercourt and some other areas.

 

[dob467]

These 3 areas are completely different neighbourhoods. Queen West West, though changing a bit too fast in my opinion, is still able to adhere to its original charm and character. King West has far too many heavy looking condos with little, if any, street activity. It's almost like the planners simply plopped Queens Quay there. Couldn't they have at least tried for some retail space that wasn't a dentist, laundry mat or convenience stor?. As for Liberty, sure, maybe there's a chance for the area, I mean the old factories are beautiful. But that strip mall was a HUGE mistake, it's not in any way built for pedestrians. Also, do all the homes have to look exactly the same? Sure, they're trying to make the neighbourhood more dense, but did they have to incorporate suburban design patterns? Cookie cutter homes and box stores do not belong in the city. Liberty is a far cry from Queen.

 

[baldwin st boy]

In response:

That Massey Sq parkette is ugly for these reasons: use of extremely cheap regulation concrete walkways (note lack of funk and artistry here); flat as a pancake with a couple of boring trees thrown in; and totally unoriginal layout.

As for LV, i was referring to the (lack of) quality architecture. Who approved the hideous beige stucco and cheap brick on those cloned townhouses? The general greyness and obvious cheapness is appalling. (So you will respond that they sold for relatively cheap coin. My answer? Why can montreal design contemporary, yet still contextually sound townhouses and sell them for even less money--often half the price LV went for? Eg. Nomade designed homes. I am not saying copy mtl; actually toronto should look to the dutch for inspiration.) The built form is also amazingly suburban. This could have been an amazing streetcar neighbourhood. Sadly, it looks more like regent park.