Toronto St Regis Toronto Hotel and Residences | 281.93m | 58s | JFC Capital | Zeidler

7 November 2010: Two views of trump:

1)
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2) Guess which "tower" I prefer?
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steveve said:
there's still tons of low-rise areas in downtown that can be further built up. you can see this slowly happening in the entertainment district with the recent Ritz, RBC, Festival, 300front, cinema condos, boutique, etc....
yonge street is still very low-rise in between college and south of bloor
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I went to a meeting on how projects are planned chaired by City Planner Willie Macrae. He made a comment that we won't see many more projects along the downtown Yonge corridor like Blu, Uptown, FIVE, Nicholas etc. Building up behind this corridor is not part of the City's official plan and there are concerns about growing traffic impacts on the neighbourhoods on each side of Yonge.
 
Shadows for one.
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Shadows was not politics. It was a zoning issue. The city has a rule since the Sheraton was built in the early 1970's that no additional shadows would be allowed on NPS. Stinson knew this and still tried to get his building built. Good reason the city shot him down.
 
dt_toronto_geek said:
I went to a meeting on how projects are planned chaired by City Planner Willie Macrae. He made a comment that we won't see many more projects along the downtown Yonge corridor like Blu, Uptown, FIVE, Nicholas etc. Building up behind this corridor is not part of the City's official plan and there are concerns about growing traffic impacts on the neighbourhoods on each side of Yonge.
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Would they make exception to projects that excluded parking?
 
^It's just a reason... I would leave out the qualifier "Good" before it though. Stupid NPS... What are people doing there? Suntanning? This is a city, get over the shadow issue.
 
Traynor said:
^It's just a reason... I would leave out the qualifier "Good" before it though. Stupid NPS... What are people doing there? Suntanning? This is a city, get over the shadow issue.
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NPS is the city's most prominent civic space, and I am pleased to see that amidst the city's often dull city planning, there's still a desire to emphasize the importance of this public space over private interests. To stand up against shadowing is to assert the importance and centrality of the space for the city. If you want to suntan at NPS, go ahead. Why not? Cities should be planned with the best public spaces in mind. We tend to think in Canada that cities have some negative and unpleasant features that we should just accept. If you want a nice space, maybe get a cottage in Muskoka or something. But great planning can make the city's spaces the most attractive places to be. That starts with the most basic things, like the amount of sunlight that reaches a square.
 
Automation Gallery said:
Oh please, there was more than that.
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There are politics involved in virtually each and every development or site alteration application to the city whether it is for a tower or a backyard porch extension.

However the reasons for the Sapphire project not coming to fruition have nothing to do with the city planning department or city council and rest entirely on Mr. Stinson's incompetence as a project proponent. He really had no idea what he is doing and I'd suggest that had the project proceeded beyond glossy renderings that it would have been a complete disaster... and I don't usually make strong statements like that, the guy was essentially a one man operation that did not know what he was doing. The media loved him for his unusual flair and he received far more attention and interest then should have been paid to him. An 'ideas' man that couldn't execute - his failures have nothing to do with bureaucracy or politics.
 
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Mike in TO said:
However the reasons for the Sapphire project not coming to fruition have nothing to do with the city planning department or city council and rest entirely on Mr. Stinson's incompetence as a project proponent. He really had no idea what he is doing and I'd suggest that had the project proceeded beyond glossy renderings that it would have been a complete disaster....
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What are you talking about...7 years of corruption at city hall will eventually come out in the wash.
Dont know about incompetence, unfortunately in this great country of ours either they like you or hate you
there is no in-betweens anymore

Here is some of Mr. Stinson's acomplishments and faliures

Projects:

1 King West (Completed)
High Park Lofts (Completed)
Sapphire Tower (Cancelled, sold for $24m. early 2008)
The Connaught Towers (Cancelled 100-storey tower for downtown Hamilton, Ontario)
The Hamilton Grand (Moving forward Main St. & John St. Hamilton, Ontario)
Stinson School Lofts (Anticipated completion date of June 2011)

Oh yeah..those shadows :rolleyes:
 
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