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

p5connex said:
MTCC north building to go - and be replaced by retail, office towers and condos - what else is new?

MTCC north building to replaced somewhere else on site??
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Nice to hear that the railway tracks will be decked over, but the replacement of the north building- I hope the amount of convention space is retained.
 
I can't conceive of a reason they wouldn't retain or expand the convention space. Its the only big option downtown, and proximity to the CN Tower makes it a plus. Furthermore it naturally creates custommers for whatever hotel is placed above it.
 
buildup said:
I can't conceive of a reason they wouldn't retain or expand the convention space. Its the only big option downtown, and proximity to the CN Tower makes it a plus. Furthermore it naturally creates custommers for whatever hotel is placed above it.
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In fact for the large conventions that Toronto wants to attract, the space of the current Convention Centre is a must; hotels and other venues do not have enough space for the large international events.

I would expect the aim would be for more convention space, not less.
 
I was stunned to hear that Oxford was the winning bidder. My first thought on hearing this was Hudson Yards.

To hear Oxford is excited about this speaks volumes about what they must be planning for this location.

This could really be huger than huge.
 
p5connex said:
Railway tracks - hmm, this could be a big deal and one that may change the landscape of the tracks for Toronto...Not saying anything as of yet, but if you look at Oxford's Hudson Yards project you will see what I am hinting at.
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Well, if they manage to build something over the tracks, that in itself would be a small miracle. Just getting the Concord pedestrian bridge up was a painful effort - one that the train operators resisted along the way.

If this effort proceeds, I really hope that MTCC expands greatly in terms of floor space. It would be a shame if it shrunk.
 
The resident GO Train operator would be better equipped than I to comment, but presumably GO would be more willing to engage in dealing with sightline issues for a massive convention centre over the tracks then for a dinky bridge. Also, this would be very close to the Union Station canopy - there would only be a short opening between the two. The convention centre would also be built much higher over the tracks as well.

With the new air-rail link coming in, this would really add to the welcome for new visitors. Coming in on the train with all the towers next to the track and then an overhanging convention centre before arriving at the newly renovated Union Station. I hope Oxford goes big.
 
Train operators and GO bureaucracy are two very different things. Rail lines are federal responsibilities with a long history, so there will be bureaucracies at two levels of government to deal with.

My hats off to Oxford if they get this. I'm hoping for it.
 
This will really help integrate the southcore area with the CBD. The south convention centre at street level is completely wasted space right now.
 
p5connex said:
I can tell you that this; the plans for the MTCC is huge! Now if it happens as proposed, this will probably be Toronto's equivalent of the Hudson Yards project in NYC- interestingly enough, also an Oxford project. I cannot divulge too much information as I was very much involved in this project and none of it is technically public knowledge or should it be just yet.

A bit of a backgrounder here:

There was an invited competition set up by Oxford Properties - all I can say is that those involved were some heavy hitters in the global architecture marketplace and some local - just think who all has built in Toronto as of late, and who is planning on building and you can pretty much fill in the blanks.

Supposedly a decision has been made, but it is not public yet, nor do I or any of the people I worked with know yet. I am going to keep this somewhat vague for obvious reasons.

For the project:

MTCC north building to go - and be replaced by retail, office towers and condos - what else is new?

MTCC north building to replaced somewhere else on site??

Hotel to stay for time-being, but may be replaced in future. Put retail on podium level of hotel? Flagship store?

Railway tracks - hmm, this could be a big deal and one that may change the landscape of the tracks for Toronto...Not saying anything as of yet, but if you look at Oxford's Hudson Yards project you will see what I am hinting at.

New and more improved connections to south - better integration with other stuff around area.

More I cannot say at the moment, but this will be big whatever the news is. But it could also end up going another route which is a pretty timid approach and that it all pretty much stays the same - just some major improvements to present buildings...Somehow I doubt this will be the direction knowing that Oxford is no slouch when it comes to building its global office/properties presence.
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After all the hype talk then its stated "but it could also end up going the other route which is pretty much timid and all pretty much stays the same" lol. This second option
seems more likely given Toronto's history for ambitions of iconic projects.
 
Or, if the present mayoralty has anyting to do with it, the whole furshlugginer mess'll be plowed down and all convention facilities moved to an expanded Toronto Congress Centre out at Dixon + 27...
 
What would they pay for the air rights to build over the tracks? Who would they pay? And, what would those funds be used for?
 
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Wow...this has the potential to be a very exciting project. I have a bit of a place in my heart for the north building (as I do for the Hudson Bay Centre--cue Scarberiankhatru telling me I need to see a cardiologist) but it makes Front Street a very bleak pedestrian experience. The awkward separation between North and South buildings also hinders attempts to connect the area north and south of the railway tracks. My guess is that the current building will be demolished and replaced with mixed uses while the convention centre will be shifted to the area over the tracks and possibly over the existing South Building entrance pavilion. I'm excited about the possibility of prominent international architects.

Equally exciting is the fact that this could present the opportunity to eliminate a choke point on the rail approaches to Union Station and forestall the ridiculous plan to stop running the Georgetown and Milton lines into Union.

adma said:
Or, if the present mayoralty has anyting to do with it, the whole furshlugginer mess'll be plowed down and all convention facilities moved to an expanded Toronto Congress Centre out at Dixon + 27...
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That would be the New York approach!
 
unimaginative2 said:
Equally exciting is the fact that this could present the opportunity to eliminate a choke point on the rail approaches to Union Station and forestall the ridiculous plan to stop running the Georgetown and Milton lines into Union.
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I actually had the opposite reaction. This might be a chance to deck the tracks and add a small auxiliary station to the corridor while they're at. An MTCC station would have awesome PATH integration, and if they were to install a couple moving sidewalks in the Skywalk it would be no more than a 5-min walk to the subway. If they could find the room to hide a couple platforms (maybe even underneath the existing rails) that could really go a long way to reducing some of the capacity issues at Union.
 
IT would be amazing if some of the rail road tracks could be covered !!! Anybody know of any potential projects that would aim to cover the rail tracks!!
 
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