Old City Hall Proposals

[Armour]

I like this suggestion at BlogTO... move the city's offices at Metro Hall to Old City Hall, and then sell of Metro Hall.

http://www.blogto.com/city/2015/09/torontos_old_city_hall_could_become_a_shopping_mall/

Speaking of Metro Hall, it should be demolished and replaced with a large park that extends from Roy Thomson Hall to John St; Wellington to King. There is no better central location in the city for such a public space; and think of how great the backdrop would be: The Mirvish/Gehry Towers, Theatre Park, Roy Thomson Hall, the financial district, Ritz-Carlton, etc.

 

[Automation Gallery]

Speaking of Metro Hall, it should be demolished and replaced with a large park that extends from Roy Thomson Hall to John St; Wellington to King. .

Thats crazy talk

 

[bilked]

Thats crazy talk

Agreed. Between this and the CBC HQ thread, there's sure a lot of hostility to Toronto's limited stock of post-modern office buildings.

 

[modernizt]

Speaking of Metro Hall, it should be demolished and replaced

The incredible wastefulness in a lot of UTers' visions for the city never ceases to amaze me, to say nothing of the complete detachment from reality.

 

[Lenser]

Goes to show it's easy to make such recommendations if it ain't money coming out of your wallet.

 

[Armour]

I'm willing to front 20 bucks. Obviously this will never happen, but don't deny how amazing such a space would be. If I were Bill Gates rich I would have the buildings demolished and build new office space elsewhere to accommodate such a vision.

 

[modernizt]

I'm willing to front 20 bucks. Obviously this will never happen, but don't deny how amazing such a space would be. If I were Bill Gates rich I would have the buildings demolished and build new office space elsewhere to accommodate such a vision.

I'm not a big fan of Metro Hall either, but the buildings are very recent, and it's a massive complex. Even if you had the money, to demolish them is incredibly wasteful.

 

[Lenser]

I don't deny it would be criminally expensive and wasteful, especially when the city has other, more pressing infrastructure issues to solve. A great park is important, yes - goes beyond mere cosmetics. But we have to find better ways to move both goods and people in this crazy city.

 

[Armour]

Even if that office space could be replaced elsewhere, guaranteed? Normally I wouldn't want to do something like this, but Toronto desperately needs a large park in the core of the city (we already lack should space and will need it even more with the massive influx of condos going up now and in the future) and this would be the best possible location. We already have David Pecaut Square here, but it is much too small. Clearing the site would roughly triple the potential public space. Disperse some of the Metro Hall office space to different buildings (Old City Hall, Mirvish/Gehry Towers, other buildings with vacancies; Deco?).

 

[Automation Gallery]

Toronto desperately needs a large park in the core of the city (we already lack should space and will need it even more with the massive influx of condos going up now and in the future) and this would be the best possible location.

Id say the Oxford Place park overtop the rail corridor would be a better plan

 

[Lenser]

"Replaced elsewhere, guaranteed?" That's a fantasy. You want a big park? Take a look at the Portlands. When Great Gulf gets going over at the mouth of the Don the city's CBD will likely be yanked eastward; the centre could well shift over the next couple of decades.

The Portlands is on downtown's doorstep. Acres and acres of brownfields waiting for remediation and recreation.

 

[Automation Gallery]

You want a big park? Take a look at the Portlands.

The Portlands is on downtown's doorstep. Acres and acres of brownfields waiting for remediation and recreation.

How about Ontario Place?, Anyways lets get back to the Old City Hall

 

[salsa]

How about Ontario Place?, Anyways lets get back to the Old City Hall

Repurpose Old City Hall into a park.

 

[Armour]

How about Ontario Place?, Anyways lets get back to the Old City Hall

We need a more central location. Ontario Place is out of the way and is already getting new park space.

 

[Armour]

"Replaced elsewhere, guaranteed?" That's a fantasy. You want a big park? Take a look at the Portlands. When Great Gulf gets going over at the mouth of the Don the city's CBD will likely be yanked eastward; the centre could well shift over the next couple of decades.

The Portlands is on downtown's doorstep. Acres and acres of brownfields waiting for remediation and recreation.

I know it is. The entire prospect is a fantasy. Would it be possible to pull off, though? It would definitely require a lot of planning. It would be a nicer use of that larger plot of land. I can't imagine a more popular place to relax in the city and be so close to everything.

The rail corridor is relatively narrow and the portlands are already guaranteed to have that park space in the coming decades. Whether the core shift elsewhere isn't the point. The Metro Hall site and surrounding area will always be very busy and large park space needs to be distributed more evenly across downtown. There are essentially no parks in the area I'm suggesting. There is a dire need for office workers, residents and pedestrians to have a peaceful place to relax and interact with each other. This could be our equivalent of Bryant Park. Since there is little undeveloped space left for new parks, eventually, we're going to have to look at demolishing buildings. Metro Hall isn't exactly an architectural wonder. Personally, I wouldn't miss it. An added benefit of tearing it down (aesthetically speaking) is that it would open up the verticality of the CN Tower from John St. The Tower would almost be completely unobstructed from ground up, save the Convention Centre.