Toronto 2180 Yonge | 247m | 65s | Oxford Properties | Hariri Pontarini

interchange42 said:
It's been a while since we last got to see design competition entries. I think the last one was for the Cumberland Terrace and adjacent properties redevelopment which Allies and Morrison of London won (now masterplanning 2150 Lake Shore West, and hopefully getting to design at least one of the actual buildings there) but which fell apart because Holt Renfrew refused to play ball. There are other entries in that thread too, aren't there? I don't have time to look them up now, but I think there were leaks at the time. The Waterfront Innovation Centre competition was another famous one here, when Diamond Schmitt revealed their non-winning design with its cone-like oculus through which Dockside Drive passed, and over which a lot of people expressed disappointment that DSAI hadn't won. Menkes was more than disappointed that the DSAI version had been revealed, as they suddenly were faced with questions over 'why not' Diamond Schmitt? In the end, the winning Sweeny &Co design was taken to task by the DRP for being too derivative of Snøhetta's Ryerson Student Learning Centre, and that was taken as license to simplify the winning design beyond all recognition.

This is probably the most famous of the recent design competitions in Toronto, with IIRC all of the competitors having revealed their entires as Concord at the time simply hadn't contracted them not to. Concord wasn't happy, despite that, because again, they had to deal with questions about why this one over that one… but the real stinger there was that in the end, the winners (aA) were told that the design was used to choose a winning team, not a winning design: the design wouldn't be used. aA were not happy and dropped out.

To go back to @cd concept's comment, this is not the case with Mirvish+Gehry. That wasn't a competition, that was, I think, a pretty earnest attempt by David Mirvish to leave an architectural and artistic legacy here. He had only been a developer once before, at 1 King West, which he had rescued when the original developer Harry Stinson got in over his head. I'm glad we have that building, but the experience Mirvish gained with it, it seems, gave him enough of a taste to want to do more, but was not enough, it turned out, to prepare him for such as grandiose original design for his project with friend Gehry: for more than one reason, it simply wasn't going to be buildable by Mirvish, nor, it turns out by more experienced players Great Gulf, Dream, and Westdale. They've all wanted something signaturely (not a word, I know) Gehry, but you have to be able to pay for it, and you can only pay enough for all the bells and whistles if others are willing to buy more expensive than normal suites in the buildings. Right now the feeling is that the money is not there for the more elaborate design, as simple as that, it has nothing to do with bait and switch in that case, just economic realities. In the meantime, it's still Gehry designing, it's still far beyond the Toronto average development, and nothing has been sold in it yet, so no bait, no switch.

Back to this site: I imagine that Oxford won't be that happy that Janet Rosenberg's firm has posted the KPMB competition entry that they were connected to. Maybe JR+Studio weren't contractually obligated to keep it secret, or maybe it's been put up by mistake. It's certainly an intriguing vision. The triangular frame of the proposed Canadian Tire HQs is quite cool and reminds me of Expo 67 architecture. It'll never be built, however. Ah well…

42
Click to expand...
And it turns out that the KPMB competition renderings did go up "by mistake." They have now been removed from our site at the request of the copyright owners.

Plus ça change.

42
 
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Event Information: Canada Square Community Consultation Meeting

Date and time:Wednesday, March 3, 2021 6:30 pm
Eastern Standard Time (Toronto, GMT-05:00)
Change time zone
Duration:2 hours 30 minutes
Description:
The proposal includes a total of 2,701 residential units, 58,763 square metres of office space, 1,941 square metres of retail space along Eglinton Avenue West and Yonge Street, approximately 1,000 square metres of community space and 864 parking spaces located in an underground garage. The applicant is also proposing a new bus terminal, replacement of two pedestrian access points to the subway station and a new access point to the Crosstown LRT. The overall density of the proposal is 7.42 times the area of the site. The proposal also includes a new publicly-accessible plaza at the corner of Yonge Street and Eglinton Avenue West, an east-west open space linking Yonge Street and Duplex Avenue, a new L-shaped public street running from Berwick Avenue to Duplex Avenue and a new public park fronting Duplex Avenue and the new L-shaped public street.
 
AlbertC said:
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Event Information: Canada Square Community Consultation Meeting

​
Date and time:Wednesday, March 3, 2021 6:30 pm
Eastern Standard Time (Toronto, GMT-05:00)
Change time zone
Duration:2 hours 30 minutes
Description:
The proposal includes a total of 2,701 residential units, 58,763 square metres of office space, 1,941 square metres of retail space along Eglinton Avenue West and Yonge Street, approximately 1,000 square metres of community space and 864 parking spaces located in an underground garage. The applicant is also proposing a new bus terminal, replacement of two pedestrian access points to the subway station and a new access point to the Crosstown LRT. The overall density of the proposal is 7.42 times the area of the site. The proposal also includes a new publicly-accessible plaza at the corner of Yonge Street and Eglinton Avenue West, an east-west open space linking Yonge Street and Duplex Avenue, a new L-shaped public street running from Berwick Avenue to Duplex Avenue and a new public park fronting Duplex Avenue and the new L-shaped public street.
Click to expand...
This consultation event just got cancelled?!?
 
trnto.com

Local officials set to push developer for new school at Yonge and Eglinton site

Councillor set to press Yonge and Eg developer
trnto.com trnto.com


A midtown councillor and a Toronto District School Board trustee are pushing for a proposed midtown development to include a new elementary school they say is desperately needed in the area.

On Dec. 24, 2020, Oxford Properties Group submitted an application to the city to redevelop the Canada Square site at the southwest corner of Yonge Street and Eglinton Avenue.

The development would consist of 2,701 residential units in five towers of up to 60 storeys, as well as retail and office and park space across the 3.7-hectare site.

According to Oxford, the Canada Square development will include “a new 10,000-square-foot community space that also features prominently in the central precinct, with the potential to accommodate a daycare centre, recreation space or other community services.”

Shelley Laskin, the TDSB trustee for Ward 8, Eglinton-Lawrence and Toronto–St. Paul’s said a new elementary school in midtown is a critical piece of infrastructure required to accommodate the projected levels of population growth in the area. She added that the size of the Canada Square site provides ample opportunity to provide it.

According to Laskin, there are 23 development projects in the pipeline situated in the Eglinton Junior Public School area.

“Students that will reside in these dwellings cannot be accommodated at Eglinton Junior PS. This means that approximately 270 elementary students will need to be bussed out of the community to other elementary schools with available classroom space or that have sites large enough to accommodate multiple portables,” said Laskin.

She added that the number is in addition to the nearly 60 students already being bussed outside the community who live in new developments.

“It’s a very challenging situation. The school board is really struggling to meet the school capacity needs of local families,” said city councillor Josh Matlow.

Matlow added that the developer’s plans, as they are now, offer very little community benefit and that this development is different from others in the area due to being located at the site of the former TTC bus barns.

“While there are private lease agreements on the lands, the land itself is public land. It’s owned by the city,” said Matlow. “I don’t see why there should be any excuses not to use public land in the public interest.”

Matlow said there will soon be a community meeting regarding the proposed development, where he will ask Oxford to alter its development proposal to include the new school.

“I’m making it very clear to Oxford that this is a priority for the community that I want to see them work into their plan,” said Matlow. “This is Oxford being a partner with the city, on city-owned land, so I just don’t see any room for excuses not to find a way to fit in evidence-based social services that inarguably we need to support a growing community, for both the people who live here today and those who are moving into new buildings in the future.”
Click to expand...
 
AlbertC said:
trnto.com

Local officials set to push developer for new school at Yonge and Eglinton site

Councillor set to press Yonge and Eg developer
trnto.com trnto.com
Click to expand...

The idea of a new school here is also referenced in this thread that I started today on the Midtown Toronto Storm Sewer Relief Project

Midtown Toronto Storm Sewer Relief Project

The Midtown Toronto Storm Sewer Relief Project involves construction of a large holding tank for stormwater to reduce or eliminate basement flooding issues in much of MidtownToronto. Notable, in this report to CreateTO's March 8th Board meeting is a potential City Building project. The City...
urbantoronto.ca urbantoronto.ca

CreateTO is now involved and a new school for mid-town may now be paid for in part or in whole by the City of Toronto in exchange for TDSB land for the MTSSRP
 
Article outlining a slew of concerns from Councillor Matlow et al. about this proposal.

The notable complaint is the lack of a school; but there is a general suggestion of inadequate community benefits.

www.thestar.com

Thousands of new homes are proposed in $2.5-billion Yonge and Eglinton project. Councillor Josh Matlow says locals don’t see many community services — or a school

Oxford Properties released its plans for the Canada Square site in December, but Matlow says a school and other benefits have to be part of the deal.
www.thestar.com www.thestar.com

Given that students in the area are already being bussed out of the area to go to school, that really isn't an unreasonable ask in my mind........the school building could be the lower levels of a tower.

The yard would either be terrace space or the existing parks/pops space re-thought.

I think most of us here are of the consensus that this site represents a great opportunity for intensification.

But most also feel this proposal has missed the mark; feeling too suburban, doing too much damage to the fabric of Yonge (already badly damaged by the current complex on-site); and with sub-optimally arranged parks and open space.

I don't know how a company as sophisticated as Oxford, consulting as extensively as suggested prior to the public submission made such a mess of this..

But it really ought to be sent back for a total re-think.
 
FWIW, the DRP largely loved this proposal. Images from the presentation:

IMG_0374.PNG.jpeg

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IMG_0356.PNG.jpeg
IMG_0346.PNG.jpeg
2E961A5C-37E3-4071-8A5C-F03088DEA133.jpeg
 
AlexBozikovic said:
FWIW, the DRP largely loved this proposal. Images from the presentation:
Click to expand...

:rolleyes: Why am I suddenly in favour of sobriety tests for panel members prior to DRP meetings?


View attachment 309268

How does one look at this image above and not find it cold, suburban, errr, actually anti-urban; and just, all around, regrettable?

Also, I notice that they have almost every image full of sunlight; which will almost certainly prove to be a tad misleading.

Modify this render for leafless trees, in shadow, with high winds.........it might hold even less appeal.

****

Ty to @AlexBozikovic for the renders, just the same!
 
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