Oddfellows Hall 450 Yonge @ Carlton (?, 5s addition, ERA)

[innsertnamehere]

I think I remember the Gladstone hotel having an old elevator as well, but I may be misremembering that.

 

[AlbertC]

The Gladstone does indeed have an old style elevator. Less well-known but 600 Bay St (NW corner of Bay & Dundas) has one too.

 

[greenleaf]

This proposal is giving me lots of mixed feelings. On one hand, all things considered, this feels like a pretty sensitive addition with thought given to angular plane toward the street and to the building itself. On the other hand, this is a really spectacular building and I lament alteration to it. If the addition allows for paying for ongoing restoration of the Oddfellows building, so be it.

 

[AlvinofDiaspar]

This proposal is giving me lots of mixed feelings. On one hand, all things considered, this feels like a pretty sensitive addition with thought given to angular plane toward the street and to the building itself. On the other hand, this is a really spectacular building and I lament alteration to it. If the addition allows for paying for ongoing restoration of the Oddfellows building, so be it.

I am not sure if it should be allowed, sensitive or otherwise - I think the line should be drawn in the sand for some heritage structures, and this would probably be one of them.

AoD

 

[Automation Gallery]

I am not sure if it should be allowed, sensitive or otherwise - I think the line should be drawn in the sand for some heritage structures, and this would probably be one of them.

AoD

I'm OK with it, as long as they don't change the exterior heritage appearance, the structure probably needs a modern interior retrofit anyways

 

[stjames2queenwest]

They can do it now tastefully as planned or who knows what might happen if it's left for another decade. Maybe people won't be so concerned about heritage in the future.

 

[Lenser]

I'm curious. Why would people be less concerned about heritage in the future?

 

[whatever]

Given what's going on around it this won't look that different from seeing YC Condos rising behind it. I'm ok with it, especially if it means we keep the original feeling of the building at ground level.

 

[adma]

I'm curious. Why would people be less concerned about heritage in the future?

Well, maybe in the same way that Forest Hill-type neighbourhoods are much more prone to McMansion rebuilds than they once were (or HCD-dom being framed--by the real estate industry, at least--as the death of Rosedale), i.e. heritage as a nostalgic crimp on "freedom", or like forcing people to revert from computers back to typewriters. And if you're a kid who grows up in that kind of environment, naturally you'd be monumentally stoopid and hostile re heritage. (Also a potential factor: differing "cultural values" among newcomers, particularly those who're "non-Western")

 

[greenleaf]

Given what's going on around it this won't look that different from seeing YC Condos rising behind it. I'm ok with it, especially if it means we keep the original feeling of the building at ground level.

I walked by the site today and I do think it will probably look like an extension of YC condo. My only concern after seeing the building from southside of college is that the roof on the left will feel crowded, but again, the design defers just enough to leave the roof. Maybe I would feel better if there were even more deference here, but I can imagine that would cut into usable space and then the financial aspects of building this.

I suppose there will just be a blank wall from YC condo so I understand adding usable space here.

Something more ideal would be like the Dineen building with a 1-2 story addition and some kind of unique rooftop patio restaurant here.

 

[stjames2queenwest]

It was hypothetical. I don't know why people would care about heritage less but clearly there have been points in time in which people didn't care, who is to say that won't happen again?

 

[AlvinofDiaspar]

The problem is the design isn't even all that deferential except from the SE - the East elevation is fairly brutal, and totally wrecked the symmetry. It's trying hard to hide its' bulk through the blunt instrument of the stepbacks but ended up compromising both the heritage structure and the addition.

AoD

 

[ProjectEnd]

I am not sure if it should be allowed, sensitive or otherwise - I think the line should be drawn in the sand for some heritage structures, and this would probably be one of them. AoD

I understand where you're coming from theoretically, but in reality, who is going to pay for the upkeep and ongoing maintenance of said structures. Unfortunately, they don't pay for themselves.

 

[interchange42]

I'm leery of touching this building in that I'd be concerned that the work might be botched…

but if it can be extended skywards with a minimally fussy skin, as shown in the ERA drawings, then I think it might not just be acceptable, but it might actually be desirable as this looks like it might offer a better transition from the existing building to YC Condos.

The ERA drawings at this point cannot be considered costed final designs though, so I would want some City body, possibly the Design Review Panel, to be given the power to demand a level of quality as regards to site plan approval. I don't expect everyone would agree that's the way to go, and I'm not even certain it would guarantee a particular outcome, but I believe it's our best chance to encourage a particular outcome.

Thoughts?

42

 

[Biljet]

So apparently the building to the South of the site (450 Yonge Street) was recently approved for a five-storey rooftop addition and interior alterations: