Toronto Union Park | 303.26m | 58s | Oxford Properties | Pelli Clarke Pelli

325 Front Street West has some nice clean lines and some dramatic moves.

Unfortunately I think the building isn't all that great from an urbanistic point of view. Hopefully they'll renovate the ground floor for restaurants and retail in the short term, and redevelop this property as part of the MTCC redevelopment in the future.
 
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Just got back from a whirlwind lunch hour visit to the Toronto of the Future exhibition.

I took a photo of the following presentation board from there. It seems the Oxford Place concept is not dead, and it appears to be re-branded as "Union Park":

Union Park.jpg
 

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Ottawan said:
Just got back from a whirlwind lunch hour visit to the Toronto of the Future exhibition.

I took a photo of the following presentation board from there. It seems the Oxford Place concept is not dead, and it appears to be re-branded as "Union Park":

View attachment 113519
Click to expand...

Yeah the name was used in the article in the Globe posted previously - but this confirms that the name basically replaces Oxford Place. Time to rename the thread title.

AoD
 
Considering that the renderings are nearly the same, I wonder if we might get those towers again in the future.
 
Filip said:
Interesting how the Citibank tower is highlighted as part of the project.
Click to expand...

Great catch. They do own it afterall, and it's probably an even more prime site given proximity to Union Station. And that building terminates the view for University/York - visibility bar none.

If only they pick up 151 Front from Allied as well...

AoD
 
So the plan here is to have the developer build a park over top the rail corridor, same with CIBC Square, and Orca's proposal
so why does the city not let this all happen instead of trying to go it alone on a vision that they can't really afford and will take forever??
 
Automation Gallery said:
So the plan here is to have the developer build a park over top the rail corridor, same with CIBC Square, and Orca's proposal
so why does the city not let this all happen instead of trying to go it alone on a vision that they can't really afford and will take forever??
Click to expand...

The ultimate plan of the developer is to build a multi-sector business cluster of which gives them the financial incentive to build a park over the railway (which gives the development even more public access). I believe the city of Toronto is now considering the ORCA project in hopes to leverage the financial burden of building the park. The fact that we've seen the ORCA proposal indicates that the city is actually serious about enclosing that ugly crevasse that runs through downtown Toronto. The motivation of the city also bodes well for Oxford's proposal too.
 
biospherian said:
The ultimate plan of the developer is to build a multi-sector business cluster of which gives them the financial incentive to build a park over the railway (which gives the development even more public access). I believe the city of Toronto is now considering the ORCA project in hopes to leverage the financial burden of building the park. The fact that we've seen the ORCA proposal indicates that the city is actually serious about enclosing that ugly crevasse that runs through downtown Toronto. The motivation of the city also bodes well for Oxford's proposal too.
Click to expand...

I really strongly wish that were the case but, unless you have non-public information about the Planning Department's POV on the ORCA proposal, they are in fact vehemently opposed to it. Keesmaat has been extremely vocal in her public posturing in opposition to it.

The Mayor himself, to my knowledge, has been conspicuously silent on the ORCA proposal, which I'm hoping means he has a different opinion on its merits and viability. I'm not sure I've ever said this, but if he does indeed come to support it, I'd be a strong proponent of the Mayor's position over the Chief Planner's.

That said, I'm not convinced the two proposals are as closely linked from a planning and approvals perspective as one might think. The ORCA proposal raised the ire of Keesmaat and co. mostly because it directly removes a not insignificant portion of green space that the City proposal has planned for, but that wouldn't be the case here.
 
This project has nothing to do with the other rail deck park, other than being above the rail corridor itself.

As to the other project, let the discussion happen where it should be. OCRA related posts will be moved to said thread. This thread is specific to Union Park.

MoD
 
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