Toronto 7 St Thomas | 38.71m | 9s | St. Thomas | Hariri Pontarini

I agree that the brick landscaping is awful.

I don't mind the pattern so much (when on the ground, as opposed to the walls) - but the main problem is that there's no contrast - it's all very matchy matchy. The heritage building fades into the sea of red brown brick.

The sidewalk (even if it retains the swirly patterns) should be in gray - to contrast with the brick of the building and have the building stand out - it would even match the roof shingles.
 
I'm surprised how few people have remarked this, though it may go without saying--- this thing looks like a little baby One Bloor.

It's definitely growing on me, and I feel like the fritted curtain glazing could be very sexy if it has a milky quality to it.
 
from today...
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Judging from those pics, those old Victorians really need to stay... they add a lot to the street.
 
I think it's lamentable that these fine homes are going to be carved out and cut up, with a pale imitation of Gehry's IAC Building in NYC plopped on top. There's nothing to celebrate here IMO.
 
This is yet another example of this city's response to increasing density while preserving heritage. I think it will work well.
 
For those interested: I got word from Councillor KWT's office that the community meeting for 1 Sultan St will be moved to March 1. Location and time TBD.
 
"The location of the Sultan Street consultation meeting has been changed. It will be held at St. Basil's Church in the Parish Hall on March 1 at 7:00pm. There will be an open house at 6:30pm."
 
At the meeting tonight, it was clear that the neighbours were not pleased and did not approve this development. In his presentation David Pontarini showed a image of a 3D model what could be built as of right (including designated heritage easements) according to the by-laws, and it was essentially 14m at 1-3 Sultan, 35m at 5,7,9 Sultan and then I believe 18 meters at 11 St. Thomas. This looked grotesque and the application is definitely better than what they could do outright. There were concerns raised about the 18m distance from 1166 Bay and the 6m distance from 1 St. Thomas. Concerns about additional traffic on Sultan street were raised as well.

A few other things I learned that I don't think have been included in this thread previously: in the submitted application, 11 St. Thomas (where Theatrebooks is) will be preserved almost in its entirety.

This development is by the same developers as 1 St. Thomas and at the time of the construction of that building, they owned 1-3 Sultan and 11 St. Thomas. They allegedly (I say allegedly because I don't know what was done in writing or said to previous neighbours) stated that they would preserve the heritage buildings on Sultan Street as is and not build on those lots. However at the time, they did not own 5,7,9 Sultan which the developers later purchased in 2007. Apparently the 35m height allowed was from a city decision in 1998 and Councillor Rae had told residents that he was going to remove it when the new harmonized by-law came into effect.
 
I was also at the meeting and, to be honest, I was shocked that they did oppose this. There was nothing of value that they added to the discussion. It was the same "noise, traffic, illumination, shadows, wind tunnels, and view" concerns that we normally hear (not that I am dismissing them) and that planners and technicians at city hall would be able to find by glancing proposal.

However, some of the residents said they would rather have residential use only in that space instead of the office/commercial, all else equal. Aside from loading, would this really reduce the traffic which they are truly concerned about? They brought up concerns like increased 'foot traffic' in the neighbourhood (which is a bit funny to me) that will be bothersome and too much for the neighbourhood.

It saddens me that unique and different architecture is not wanted, especially in this neighbourhood, or in any neighbourhood in Toronto. The proposed actually looks really nice. I wouldn't describe it as a 'cloud' but it is something that Toronto lacks.
 
Hearing about what residents say at meetings like this and Queen's Quay is depressing. I honestly thought downtowners were more interested in what is best for the city. Apparently not. I hope this project continues as planned and maybe just maybe the locals will wake up and realize that their precious neighborhood has actually been improved by development.

It is really starting to sink in how accurate Clewes' quote is about how Toronto isn't ready to be a big city. Fortunately there are people out there who want the very best for Toronto and there seems to be more and more of them every year.
 
Indeed, most community meetings have neighbours who just come to rant and be rude (this meeting was no exception). Of all the comments made last night, there were only a few that offered any alternative suggestions for the development that would make it more palatable for them.

I think people come to these meetings thinking the proposed development is an all or nothing kind of deal. It was made clear by the planners at the end of the meeting last night that the developer could build in the as of right envelopes and the city would just have to rubber stamp the development. The architect pointed this out during his presentation. I think if the planners had done this in the intro it might have directed the "discussion" a bit more.
 
MBS said:
Hearing about what residents say at meetings like this and Queen's Quay is depressing. I honestly thought downtowners were more interested in what is best for the city. Apparently not. I hope this project continues as planned and maybe just maybe the locals will wake up and realize that their precious neighborhood has actually been improved by development.

It is really starting to sink in how accurate Clewes' quote is about how Toronto isn't ready to be a big city. Fortunately there are people out there who want the very best for Toronto and there seems to be more and more of them every year.
Click to expand...

100% behind you on that.
 
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