Toronto The New Residences of Yorkville Plaza | 92.05m | 31s | Camrost-Felcorp | WZMH COMPLETE

Should the Queens Park view corridor be preserved?

  • Yes

    Votes: 168 43.3%

  • No

    Votes: 145 37.4%

  • Don't Know

    Votes: 15 3.9%

  • Don't Care

    Votes: 60 15.5%
  • Total voters
    388
tylergreenleaf said:
According to Adam Vaughan's website regarding a community meeting for this project:

"The planning meeting on 21 Avenue Road has been cancelled as the developer has withdrawn this application. When a revised application is submitted, another planning meeting will be scheduled."
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Although the current design for this project has apparently been withdrawn, I assume that the developer is currently doing a fairly comprehensive redesign (otherwise I would think they would simply present the original design, and ask for additional variances for any changes from that design -- like Bazis with 1BE).

Given the money they have already spent on acquiring the site, I think that it's a virtual certainty that a major redevelopment of this site will happen. I would guess that the reason for the withdrawal of the original plan is the unexpected (to the developer) and vocal opposition to the first design, due to Yorkville NIMBYism, and also on the real impact on the Queen's Park sight lines. I am guessing that the reworked plans will feature a single, considerably lower building, which will probably have a much larger floor plate to make up the loss of height -- in other words, a "squat" design, taking up the entire area of the site, but having a lower impact on the Queen's Park sight lines. A bad trade, in my opinion, but one more acceptable to the City.

Bill
 
adma said:
Explain "underwhelming".
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short, small, puny, disappointing... even from as close as Richmond St. I would have to agree with a previous poster that the best impact of Old City Hall's clock tower is when viewed from the west with Cadillac Fairview as a backdrop.

Just my opinion though.
 
Mongo said:
I am guessing that the reworked plans will feature a single, considerably lower building, which will probably have a much larger floor plate to make up the loss of height -- in other words, a "squat" design, taking up the entire area of the site, but having a lower impact on the Queen's Park sight lines. A bad trade, in my opinion, but one more acceptable to the City.

Bill
Click to expand...

Really? Does that make economic sense from the perspective of the developer? I would think the attraction of re-developing this site, with the first proposal was the huge increase in density with all that height = dollars on the bottom line. I am not sure of the exact dimensions of the site, but I dont think they could compensate for that serious of a height chop. If Mongo's guess is right I would think that means a serious miscalculation by the developer...
 
Redroom Studios said:
short, small, puny, disappointing... even from as close as Richmond St. I would have to agree with a previous poster that the best impact of Old City Hall's clock tower is when viewed from the west with Cadillac Fairview as a backdrop.

Just my opinion though.
Click to expand...

You truly have been brainwashed by supertall fetishism, haven't you...
 
no, I dont think I would put myself in that category... certainly I do like the actual historic Old City Hall and Queens Park Legislature, which are variations of the same style of architecture by the way. I have just always "truly" felt that looking up Bay St that something that we would proudly show to tourists is quite underwhelming... I dont know that this view terminus is all that impressive. Although, here's one on a similar scale in San Francisco that I do like... nothing but open water behind it: The Ferry Terminal building as seen looking up Market St. (damn I'm contradictory!)

2267159074_7e957f94ca_o.jpg
 
Feel free, anyone, to take a snap of Old City Hall from the south side of Queen's Quay at the foot of Bay Street, with ROCP lined up directly behind it ...
 
ya, it does look fine in that pic...

just in the spirit of stirring up trouble, no complaints about the Bell building, clearly visible directly to the north?
 
Its only because Bay takes that jog to the west at Queen that causes the East side of Bay to line up behind old city hall. That said, it would be insane if the entire East side of Bay from Queen to Bloor had to adopt a height restriction to protect this backdrop. I've always felt that clocktower was sort of mundane anyway - sort of historicist.

There is no comparison to Bay for intensification purposes.
 
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