Re: RE: Yonge and bloor - 80 stories
Some details from the press conference:
$450 million project, almost 80-storey residential, luxury hotel and retail development
1 acre site
Bazis has aquired 3 other prime sites on transit routes with future announcements to come.
The structures at Y/B will be torn down late this fall with a sales centre going up. Target to open sales in Feb 2008 with completion in 2011.
The renderings posted are NOT the final design. Roy Varacalli stated that Bazis is still working with the city and other groups. The design will continue to evolve.
Retail podium with 100,000 square feet of shopping on three levels. 20 foot ceilings to attact flagship international retail brands. A fourth floor in the podiume will contain a 'five-star' restaurant and lounge overlooking Yonge and Bloor. (podium is equivilant to 8 residential floors - when they say "nearly 80 floors" I wonder if they count '8' or '4' for the podium).
Direct underground access to subway.
Podiums roof level will be 'green' with a landscaped garden.
120 room, 5 star boutique hotel will occupy first 6 floors of the tower which will rise from the centre of the podium.
~500 units ranging from 550sqf to 10,000+ sqf for the penthouses.
7 levels of underground parking.
Crystal Blu is 80% sold, construction starts at end of April.
The tower will use previous zoning approvals, will still have to go through site plan approval. Height may have some minor changes but will be ~675 feet.
Previously approved application included $2 million for Bloor Street revitilization.
Many of the reporters questions focused on height... it got rather annoying. Kyle Rae seemed a bit aggitated after the fourth height issues question and responded that this isn't Caledon, this is downtown Toronto etc...
The prime reason why ~80 floors fit in ~675 feet was explained that the cinemas in the former application had very significant heights and that the additional floors were accomodated through not having cinemas (that and I suspect the double height podium is being double counted and through site-plan approvals that a minor variance will be granted for a bit of extra height).
Roy Varacalli had some interesting comments about the design - He noted that Toronto is sort of split east-west down Yonge St. and the tower speaks to that. There is a 'blade' running up the centre and the tower is not symetrical. The West side (viewed in the posted rendering) is 'more playful' and is curved and leans to the south. The east side has slightly different colours (both sides were described as translucent vs the typical green and blue condos). The east side doesn't have a curve to it and leans to the north.
