OldManKensey
Active Member
Please oh please, let any new owner get rid of the fake fans on the exterior. So many elements of this buidling are offensive, but for some reason I find the fake fans to be particualry egregious.
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The Tenor (10 Dundas St E, Ent Prop Trust, 10s, Baldwin & Franklin)
Tuscani01
Senior Member
At least the ad's are getting a little more interesting. There are now 3D bubbles on 2 of the ads on TLS for LottoMax.
MetroMan
Senior Member
CodeMonkey
Active Member
Actually i would like to see Citytv expand into the building. The space at the torch will fill up quickly and Citytv can expand into the square before someone else does. Global used the top of the Hardrock cafe for their entertainment program for the defunct E! channel. Maybe citytv could use one floor for something?
adma
Superstar
Then, when it comes to creative adaptive reuse...
Hey, Don Jail's closing. Gotta put the tough guys somewhere
Hey, Don Jail's closing. Gotta put the tough guys somewhere
MetroMan
Senior Member
Well get this!! Even though you were joking, Murray is a possibility! ... but only partially. I'm getting more info from the Brookfield + Hines bid and they appear to want to perform major surgery on the building by removing most of the Western section of the building while keeping only the AMC and restaurants operational.
This wouldn't happen until 2011 though which is when most of the leases of the smaller stores comes up for renewal. FutureShop however has a longer lease along with AMC so they'd have to negotiate a price to buy out FutureShop or perhaps keep them open while they gut the building's other levels.
iSlutsky
Chit-Chatter
Agreed.
Actually, I do not mind the adverts so much and I quite like the building. I think it is fun.
But, those fake fans are ridiculous. Every time I pass by, I think that it is the cheesiest thing I have ever seen.
MetroMan
Senior Member
The fans will definitely go in any reno. Nobody but PenEquity thought those were cool or a nice design "feature".
Whoever gets this building will be the one with the deepest pockets so I think a renovation of 10 Dundas W is a given.
Whoever gets this building will be the one with the deepest pockets so I think a renovation of 10 Dundas W is a given.
MetroMan
Senior Member
Digging deeper... found that the Adidas store is a money losing operation that's been kept open as their flagship showroom. We'll see if they renew their lease when the new owners come in.
I'd love to see that corner become the entrance to Metropolis (ok, I'm reverting to that name until it gets renamed). Having the entrance further down Dundas East makes no sense at all. The busy corner is Yonge + Dundas, with Yonge getting most of the pedestrian traffic.
If they're going through the trouble of tearing down most of the Western section of the building, I believe they'd reconfigure it that way.
I envision it happening like this:
Phase 1: They keep the current lobby open, allowing its escalators to continue to feed people up to the AMC and restaurant level. In the meantime, the Adidas store gets removed while they build a new lobby in that space with escalators leading up to the existing second floor landing but closed off behind drywall until the new lobby is done. Once there, they can close the original lobby, open the new one and get to work on installing stores there.
Phase 2: They remove the old escalators and deck over the current lobby, creating a second floor there. This second floor would become Futureshop, moved over a little west of its current location. This would align their store with the "round window" that they now use as a staff room and would then be used as much more than that. They could use that space as their TV sales floor with the glowing TV's facing the square.
Once Futureshop's new digs are ready, they can close off most of the Eastern section of the store, which would see it's floor removed to open up the new lobby to a two story height.
The final configuration would be a lobby on the corner of Y&D with a height of two floors, with Futureshop built on a balcony overlooking the lobby.
A major tenant (could still be Adidas) would go in the space now occupied by the current lobby.
I'd love to see that corner become the entrance to Metropolis (ok, I'm reverting to that name until it gets renamed). Having the entrance further down Dundas East makes no sense at all. The busy corner is Yonge + Dundas, with Yonge getting most of the pedestrian traffic.
If they're going through the trouble of tearing down most of the Western section of the building, I believe they'd reconfigure it that way.
I envision it happening like this:
Phase 1: They keep the current lobby open, allowing its escalators to continue to feed people up to the AMC and restaurant level. In the meantime, the Adidas store gets removed while they build a new lobby in that space with escalators leading up to the existing second floor landing but closed off behind drywall until the new lobby is done. Once there, they can close the original lobby, open the new one and get to work on installing stores there.
Phase 2: They remove the old escalators and deck over the current lobby, creating a second floor there. This second floor would become Futureshop, moved over a little west of its current location. This would align their store with the "round window" that they now use as a staff room and would then be used as much more than that. They could use that space as their TV sales floor with the glowing TV's facing the square.
Once Futureshop's new digs are ready, they can close off most of the Eastern section of the store, which would see it's floor removed to open up the new lobby to a two story height.
The final configuration would be a lobby on the corner of Y&D with a height of two floors, with Futureshop built on a balcony overlooking the lobby.
A major tenant (could still be Adidas) would go in the space now occupied by the current lobby.
whatever
Senior Member
Although that sounds logical to me, they'd have to figure out something for the elevators since those are all located to the west side of the current lobby. They might have to carve out a small office lobby to retain access.
It's going into hypotheticals, but if the new owner negotiates with Ryerson to demolish the parking garage and expand the development then the current lobby's location would actually make sense.
It's going into hypotheticals, but if the new owner negotiates with Ryerson to demolish the parking garage and expand the development then the current lobby's location would actually make sense.
maestro
Senior Member
The eastern section is the bigger eyesore, IMO.
I'm hoping to see a later phase as ... shifting AMC over and demolishing the rest.
I also hope their plan is to assemble the rest of the block .
I'm hoping to see a later phase as ... shifting AMC over and demolishing the rest.
I also hope their plan is to assemble the rest of the block .
dt_toronto_geek
Superstar
Assemble the rest of the block?
MetroMan
Senior Member
I think he means: knock down the West side of Metropolis and reconstruct the block as it was (smaller individual stores).
I disagree. The idea of Metropolis is fantastic, it's the execution of the job that was horribly handled.
I disagree. The idea of Metropolis is fantastic, it's the execution of the job that was horribly handled.
maestro
Senior Member
to buy out Ryerson ( a given), the HMV building, and the heritage building beside it.
MetroMan
Senior Member
^ Ah. Makes sense.
The heritage building that houses Salad King should stay as is but would integrate nicely into a reconfigured Metropolis. It would be the perfect place to house a badly needed North entrance to Dundas Station.
The whole building is a mess because it had to be built around the garage and these properties. It would be nice to have an entire block to work with as a blank canvas.
However, I think it's a little too late to knock this down and start from scratch. We've waited too long for this one to be built. The intersection can't afford another 3, 4, 10 years of waiting for completion. A checklist of items can be worked on to rejuvenate this building and bring it to what it was intended to be... and I don't think that's a block sized mall.
The corner of Y&D doesn't need yet another mall. With the Eaton Centre dominating and the Atrium on Bay playing second fiddle, another mall is not what Metropolis should become. I like how the stores at street level have their main -- and in most cases their only -- entrance along the street.
The interior accessible businesses should continue to strengthen the concept that Metropolis is an Entertainment Venue: an AMC multiplex theatre and restaurants. What is missing here (and in downtown in general) is a Dave & Busters type venue. A bowling alley would be great. A couple of clubs at the top could work well since this part of the city is active well into the night.
The prevision for a rollercoaster on the roof of the AMC and the intention to bring Disney on board almost makes me believe that PenEquity knew what they were doing, had a winning concept and possessed the right vision for this building... but just royally screwed up in the details.
I'm hoping a second shot at it by a developer with deeper pockets, more experience and connections can really make Metropolis a hit.
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