Toronto Pan Am Village in the West Don Lands | ?m | ?s | DundeeKilmer | KPMB

[syn]

Those are some great shots.

I'm curious, were a lot of old brick buildings torn down in the mid-2000s during demolition? I think some more brick would've added a lot more character to this development.

 

[DSC]

Those are some great shots.

I'm curious, were a lot of old brick buildings torn down in the mid-2000s during demolition? I think some more brick would've added a lot more character to this development.

There is a bit of history at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Don_Lands The West Don lands were pretty much vacant land from the 1980s and any buildings there were certainly not worth saving. As you can see, the former Palace Street School building (Canary Restaurant) and the railway police building HAVE been saved and it will be interesting to see how they get integrated into the new neighbourhood.

 

[Ex-Montreal Girl]

I agree that car dealerships aren't anywhere near as exciting as restaurants/cafes, but they're way better than parking lots. You could see it being a tougher draw attracting people to buy the condos if their neighbours are empty parking lots, as opposed to temporary car dealerships

Well, if they are temporary ... but to my mind, what with some of those vertical dealerships going up, it's becoming the new luxury car market for downtown Toronto. Admittedly some of the stand-alone buildings are very cool but they add zip to the street life and also to the NIGHT life -- not as in clubs but as in the feeling that the carpets haven't been rolled up and it's dark and empty.

Incidentally, in case it hasn't been mentioned before, the TTC is planning a streetcar loop at Cherry somewhere to alleviate the strain that the Queen and King cars are getting now from all the condos in the west end.

 

[someMidTowner]

I agree that car dealerships aren't anywhere near as exciting as restaurants/cafes, but they're way better than parking lots. You could see it being a tougher draw attracting people to buy the condos if their neighbours are empty parking lots, as opposed to temporary car dealerships

In my opinion, a car dealership is one of the few things worse than a parking lot. The only difference is there is a glass wall separating you from the cars (which are all shiny and new). Almost as bad as a drive-through fast food joint. At least a parking lot holds the potential to become something that isn't a car dealership

 

[interchange42]

Anyone know what is being built in the lot slightly west of the Don lands action? Looks like shoring is underway for something. Also are there plans for these other large parking lots that are visable in SkyJacked pic?

Mike, do you mean the yellow equipment towards the lower right corner of the photo below? If so, it's not the Acura dealership, but the Parliament Street Data Centre. You'll find a dataBase page and/or thread with that name.

42

The work west of the West Don lands is the new Accura car dealership building - replacing the one at Front and Lower Sherbourne. This was initially proposed as a larger building but the City was not keen and they seem to be going for an 'as of right' low-level development just east of the Porsche dealership. I think there is a thread on it but the permit has been Under Review for ages but is:

Application: New Building Status: Under Review

Location: 45 EASTERN AVE
TORONTO ON

Ward 28: Toronto Centre-Rosedale

Application#: 04 188452 BLD 02 NB Accepted Date: Apr 26, 2012

Project: Car Dealership New Building

Description: Revision to modify 2nd building. New Tenant - "Honda".

The big paved area south of Front Street and east of Trinity is part of the Pan-Am Games site - Welcome Centre - but I have not seen any plans for it. It is to be a temporary building and the site will clearly be up for redevelopment after 2015.

From Friday

This picture is from the floor of the LTower, not too sure what level. I had to make it loud so you could see something.


Razz bring us closer.

 

[Ex-Montreal Girl]

In my opinion, a car dealership is one of the few things worse than a parking lot. The only difference is there is a glass wall separating you from the cars (which are all shiny and new). Almost as bad as a drive-through fast food joint. At least a parking lot holds the potential to become something that isn't a car dealership

I just try to tell myself that those ground floor storefront dealerships are temporary. But I worry that they will become separate buildings too. The good news is, they're vertical, midrise buildings, without vast lots around them.

 

[UrbanAffair]

Mike, do you mean the yellow equipment towards the lower right corner of the photo below? If so, it's not the Acura dealership, but the Parliament Street Data Centre. You'll find a dataBase page and/or thread with that name.

42

Yes that is what I was referring too. Ok cool, thats a bit better than another car dealership. Lots of stuff sprouting up. Will be interesting to see how everything looks in a year or by Pan-am time.

 

[rdaner]

These buildings are really becoming prominent as well getting cladding. An entirely new district is going to open at once to the city and it will be interesting to see the effect; even CityPlace has opened more gradually. Photos taken 22 March 2013.

Does anyone know what the building is that is going up on the western edge of Lauren Harris Square?

 

[Jasonzed]

 

[TOCondoGarden]

Does anyone know what the building is that is going up on the western edge of Lauren Harris Square?

Thanks for all the pics today, rdaner.

Those are the second market condo buildings going up on Block 4. These haven't gone on sale yet. But I took these pics last year at the Canary District sales centre.

 

[TOCondoGarden]

Also, here's a rendering I found on Waterfront Toronto's presentation on the West Don Lands last May which should give us a good indication along with the little models above:

View attachment 11393
Image from Waterfront Toronto Website

Member FNTS posted better images on March 4 above^

I think its 15-ish storeys at the Front St and Bayview Av corner and 11-ish storeys here at Lawren Harris Square. Looks very decent to me! I can see them putting it to market once Canary District has some more sales (over 70%?). But they don't really care if this has pre-sales this early in 2013 because it needs to be completed for the Games anyway. Who knows if this is going to be called Canary District Phase 2 or some new branding. Time will tell.

p.s. looks like some nice/interesting glazing going up in one of the affordable rental buildings at Block 3.

 

[FNTS]

From the Corktown.ca newsletter:

The West Don Lands Committee holds their monthly public meeting tonight (Monday, March 25) at 7 p.m. The meeting will take place on the 11th floor of 39 Parliament Street. This month, attendees will see a presentation from representatives from Fred Victor on the affordable housing being built in the West Don Lands.

 

[CanadianNational]

April 3, 2013
Sorry about the shot quality - sun was ahead of me, it was a cellphone pic and I haven't sharpened it up. At any rate, you can pick out a detail here and there, including River City on the far left.

 

[CanadianNational]

Later in the day, better light. Closeup.

 

[TOCondoGarden]

Rogers TV is showing their West Don Lands episode tonight @ 10:30 p.m. on "Building Toronto". It's been on before (as well as being online) but gives a great overview for anyone interested in this up-and-coming area of TO.