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1 Bloor East, DEAD AND BURIED (Bazis, -2s, Varacalli)

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Therion said:
A real estate insider recently told me that Bazis can't get financing, either for 1BE or Emerald Park. Now I know this falls into the unfounded rumours category, but I trust this guy, as he's fairly high up in the RE development ladder. He's actually the second developer to tell me this in the last two weeks, so the evidence is not good.
Click to expand...

Actually its appears there is no "evidence".
 
From today's Star:

What Yonge and Bloor could be

June 13, 2009
CHRISTOPHER HUME

What the recession taketh away, it also giveth back.

What the city might lose in a condo tower, it could gain in a public square. Which would you rather have? Especially at the corner of Bloor and Yonge.

No, the city has no plans anyone knows of to deal with the empty site on the southeast corner of Toronto's most important crossroads. But anything's possible – or should be.

The lot was slated to become an 80-storey tower that included shops, cinemas, a hotel and, on top of everything, a condo complex. It was to be developed by Kazakhstan-based Bazis International.

But since the scheme was unveiled last year, amidst much fanfare, little has happened. Nothing, that is, but the demolition of everything on site. It is now an empty rectangle and, at approximately 50 by 80 metres, large.

Which brings us to the idea of a square. Since the land's just sitting there why not put it to use, even if temporarily? A square, one of a series that might line Yonge St. from Dundas St. up to Eglinton Ave. and beyond, would transform the neighbourhood and take advantage of the energy of Bloor St.

Janet Rosenberg, one of Canada's most respected landscape architects, likes the site. She also thinks it has enormous potential.

"Yonge and Bloor is a really important spot, and it's completely uncelebrated," she says. "Putting up another condo there would make it invisible. We want people on the streets, not in their condos. It's time to look at what infrastructure is and find a new balance."

Rosenberg's scheme includes a large but shallow pond. A double row of trees runs parallel to Bloor, another defines the south edge at Hayden St. One area is set aside for tables and chairs, and a number of big stainless-steel spheres are dotted around the site, artworks reminiscent of Anish Kapoor's "Bean" in Chicago's Millennium Park.

"We know how to do parks here," Rosenberg says, "but not squares. It's really simple: People go to places where people are. We go to the mall when we're not shopping just because people are there.

"This could be a great public space. We could take ideas from the fashion business on Bloor; have runways and fashion shows. Going south from Bloor, Yonge is a bit of a dying street; the quality drops off pretty quickly. The square could help anchor Yonge."

James Brown and Kim Storey, the husband-and-wife team who designed Yonge-Dundas Square, propose a temporary facility.

"These are what I call `waiting spaces,'" Brown explains. "There are many of them in the city. What do you do with them? Yonge and Bloor is a kind of frontier. Who does it belong to? It belongs to Yonge St. people and Bloor St. people. They're different. We'd try to understand how these two groups might interact and unleash a collective creativity."

Brown divides the site into several strips, each a different material or colour. His idea also calls for a "Toronto pavilion," a collapsible structure with cultural content that could be put up and taken down at will. It would stand two storeys tall along Yonge St., its glass walls acting as an attraction, not a barrier. The large, 3-metre-tall steel boxes in which the pavilion travels would be arranged around the square.

"We want to set up a spatial experience for people," Brown says. "We want to create breaks and gaps that form a framework. There would also be large clusters of trees in raised planters arranged in ways that suggest walks."

Like Rosenberg, he envisions chairs and tables: "This is waiting space," he adds, "not so much an event space but a place to sit or walk. But it could be used as a set for runways and fashion shows."

As all three designers point out, a condo tower can go almost anywhere, but a square only makes sense in specific spots, none more so than Yonge and Bloor. Certainly, the short history of Yonge-Dundas Square down the road shows such a feature can be transformative.

"What's important is that it's a way to make the city more livable," Rosenberg argues. "That's where the focus is now – making livable cities. Europeans have understood the importance of squares for a long time. They aren't just places for people to gather; a lot of socialization happens here."

And as living spaces become smaller and smaller, the public realm looms larger and larger. We couldn't leave home without it.
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There are a couple sketches of the two visions as well, but I'm having trouble posting them. They can be seen here:

http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/article/650295
 
Probably gets most of ideas and information from here. This is one of the best sites out there and one of only a few that discusses everything in so much detail.
 
I think the square idea is very cool. We've got to get over the over-precious squares like Dundas Square with the dedicated security and the marketing campaigns. A square should speak for itself. I'd also like to see it lined with restaurants and the like on the south and east sides, with patios spilling out onto the square. It could actually be a really pleasant place. Just don't over-design or over-program it.
 
fb49d6fe44fa9dbc12053c6a77f8.jpeg


Two visions: Landscape architect Janet Rosenberg's is shown left; Brown + Storey Architects' is seen right.

Source
 
They're both quite cool, but I worry that they're a little over-programmed. Sometimes the most successful squares are just the ones with a wide-open expanse of pavement, maybe with some grass and trees. What matters most are the uses surrounding the square, and how effectively the square incorporates them.
 
1 Bloor East will happen. It is the new Trump Tower Toronto. Instead 1 Bloor East is actually selling. I have confidence in this project.
 
unimaginative2 said:
They're both quite cool, but I worry that they're a little over-programmed. Sometimes the most successful squares are just the ones with a wide-open expanse of pavement, maybe with some grass and trees. What matters most are the uses surrounding the square, and how effectively the square incorporates them.
Click to expand...
...and a centrepiece of some sort, like a fountain or statue with areas people can sit on to encourage loitering. This kind of thing is rare in Toronto but it's how most public squares are designed.

Of course, that would take the city buying the property, which we all know it can't afford.
 
I like the water in the first concept. It always seems to add something a public event. This sort of open pool idea is nicer than a fountain.
 
I'm somewhat against the idea of it becoming a temporary public space because it would compromise the long-term development potential of the site. I can already imagine the "Save Our Square" protests that will happen when the next proposal comes along. Pretty up the hoarding and let it sit fallow if it comes to that.
 
I dunno. Nice squares are often bordered by attractive things. A square at Yonge and Bloor would be surrounded by crap. It would feel grey, desolate, and depressing. I'd rather see an attractive highrise dilute the ugliness.
 
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