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

Excuse my ignorance, but at the last DRP meeting was it not recommended for a redesign of the massing in relation to the CN Tower? I know the DRP can only give recommendations, so was it just ignored and the developer will go ahead with this design?
This rendering was always suppose to pay homage to the CN Tower with the flares pointing towards it. Also they've positioned tallest to smallest building to again pay tribute to the CN tower. I actually love this design a lot.
 
I'm a bit suprised that they are proposing both residential towers as rental (which is a good thing).

I'd forgotten that only new condos need to meet IZ rules and that purpose-built rentals have no requirement. I guess the 32 affordable units weren't required at all (and thus a bonus)... but less than 4% of the residential total still seems low (maybe the huge scale of the office/residential development makes that number seem artificially low).

"The application proposes 832 dwelling units all of which are currently proposed as rental units. The applicant has offered to provide 32 affordable rental dwelling units through a Section 37 contribution with the City as a community benefit."
 
I'm a bit suprised that they are proposing both residential towers as rental (which is a good thing).

I'd forgotten that only new condos need to meet IZ rules and that purpose-built rentals have no requirement. I guess the 32 affordable units weren't required at all (and thus a bonus)... but less than 4% of the residential total still seems low (maybe the huge scale of the office/residential development makes that number seem artificially low).

"The application proposes 832 dwelling units all of which are currently proposed as rental units. The applicant has offered to provide 32 affordable rental dwelling units through a Section 37 contribution with the City as a community benefit."
IMO, it makes sense given Oxford is a subsidiary of OMERS. Having steady rental income is probably far more useful in the long term to a pension fund than selling some condos right now. Similar to how QuadReal (which is owned by a BC public sector pension fund) changed the project at Yonge and Grosvenor from Halo Condos to IMMIX rentals when they took over from Cresford.
 
This rendering was always suppose to pay homage to the CN Tower with the flares pointing towards it. Also they've positioned tallest to smallest building to again pay tribute to the CN tower. I actually love this design a lot.
...putting it that way, you can almost see them saying, "Ta-dah! And there is it is!" <3
 
This rendering was always suppose to pay homage to the CN Tower with the flares pointing towards it. Also they've positioned tallest to smallest building to again pay tribute to the CN tower. I actually love this design a lot.
Understood. I was just referencing what one DRP panelist commented on regarding the CN Tower. This is from the UT article:

"Another Panelist offered an alternative massing, arguing that the step up in the height of the towers "conflicts with the importance of the CN Tower". They elaborated that, "there is a lot of void around the CN Tower and it is always viewed with the context of blue sky. These towers now provide a backdrop to it as there are no other towers within proximity". They suggested perhaps the middle tower should be the tallest, with the easternmost stepping down as a gesture of subordination to the CN Tower, and that they might consider "re-examining the tops of the buildings and the skyline articulation".


Source: https://urbantoronto.ca/news/2019/09/union-park-underwhelms-first-appearance-design-review-panel
 
Understood. I was just referencing what one DRP panelist commented on regarding the CN Tower. This is from the UT article:

"Another Panelist offered an alternative massing, arguing that the step up in the height of the towers "conflicts with the importance of the CN Tower". They elaborated that, "there is a lot of void around the CN Tower and it is always viewed with the context of blue sky. These towers now provide a backdrop to it as there are no other towers within proximity". They suggested perhaps the middle tower should be the tallest, with the easternmost stepping down as a gesture of subordination to the CN Tower, and that they might consider "re-examining the tops of the buildings and the skyline articulation".

Source: https://urbantoronto.ca/news/2019/09/union-park-underwhelms-first-appearance-design-review-panel
They keep referring to that as a bad thing without really demonstrating why it's a bad thing...
 
IMO @Sime nailed it. The ramping up of heights from west to east with the 303m super-tall crown flaring and pointing to the CN Tower, is skyline drama.

I'll pass on "subordination", especially since CN has a 250 metre buffer ;)
 
...like lining up a chicken, pig and a cattle next to a giraffe from left to right, I think the public easily will discern who are the subordinate ones correctly, lol.
 
They keep referring to that as a bad thing without really demonstrating why it's a bad thing...
Isn’t this so communication signals are not blocked, as much? I can pick up all the Buffalo TV stations from my condo digital tv antenna at ~100m but have problems with CTV bouncing off the CN tower to the east at times.
 
I personally think Toronto needs to move on from the CN tower. It's a relic of the 1970s. The height of the CN tower observation deck has acted like an artificial buffer preventing taller buildings from being constructed. It's been 50 years.

Time to move and for Toronto to build higher.
Agreed. The thing will always have a place in Toronto's history and tourists will continue to flock to it.

On the other hand, I would suggest that there's a fairly lean market in this town for supertalls, much less megatalls. The CN tower isn't exactly holding back development in that regard; it's essentially economic forces that are at work.
 
I personally think Toronto needs to move on from the CN tower. It's a relic of the 1970s. The height of the CN tower observation deck has acted like an artificial buffer preventing taller buildings from being constructed. It's been 50 years.

Time to move and for Toronto to build higher.
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