Toronto 1 Sumach | 120m | 35s | Block | gh3

They should double the height of the building being located right between the two arterial roads! As seen in the photos in the previous page would look even better .
 
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I really like this, but that one remaining building on the block really sticks out like a sore thumb. Were they not able to acquire that piece of land?

Ideally it would be redeveloped with the rest of the site. It could even remain as an Alfa Romeo service center, so long as it fits in visually with the rest of the block I'd be satisfied.
 
Towered said:
I was there last weekend. Having been built in 2009 (where does the time go??) I can confirm that it has acquired a little bit of grit.
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Meh, it's extremely well-used and well-liked though. The only grit I'd complain about is the dust accumulation on the basketball courts due to the absence of rainwater flushing them out. I can't speak to the conditions of the children's play area though. The best part of the Underpass Park design and concept is that it'll likely never be left wanting for a fresh coat of paint.
 
interchange42 said:
25 years after they were built, and these three houses still look like this…

View attachment 343863
Google Street View

…with nothing but some graffitied, whitewashed plywood at ground level to visually assault visitors and passersby. Anyone loving these over the last quarter century, unfortunately, has not loved them enough to affect any substantial improvement in all that time: at ground level, these have been eyesores forever, not one sou having been spent on fixing up the entrance area nor the landscaping.

No inside knowledge of this, but I assume that Markee would let them go to whomever would simply pay to disassemble them and cart them away, and I hope whomever did that would also have the money to re-erect them on a worthier plinth…

…but just get them outta here, please, and let's move on! This proposal appears to be a more-than-worthy replacement.

42
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I would grudgingly have to agree. Although cube house is a welcome architectural view on entering the downtown it's a bit too much prime real estate for a single property. I would like to see the proposal's increased density approval traded for a suitable cube house location with a cleaned up base. While a bit of a style clash, why not locate on the lot directly to the west on the corner? Think we can have the best of both worlds here.
 

The future never really took shape for Toronto’s whimsical cube house. Now its time is up​


Aug. 30, 2021


Because developers for the latest project recognize the structure was built to be relocated, they’re willing to finally see it moved from its birthplace, rather than have it demolished — as long as someone wants it.

“The cube will live another day,” said Jennifer Keesmaat, Toronto’s former chief planner, 2018 mayoral candidate and current partner of Markee Developments, a real estate company involved in the project.

“It can be moved and we’re happy to work with any partner that’s interested in doing that,” Keesmaat said, noting the move would come at a cost.

If no one wants the cube house, however, it will be demolished, she confirmed.

Toronto design firm GH3 is also involved on the project, along with Thelo Development Corporation, who partnered with Markee.

The property where the cube house sits is owned by Thelo, who bought the land in 2018. Taso Boussoulas, a commercial real estate professional and the principal at Thelo, previously told the Star he made the $2,750,000 purchase with his business partner and real estate developer, Jeff Craig.

The new development still needs to go through a planning approval process with the city, along with community consultation. If things go smoothly, construction could start as early as next year, according to Keesmaat.

The mixed-use development calls for a 35-storey tower with permanent affordable rental apartments for the site, along with the condos.

Richards wants the developers to include rigorous storytelling with photos of the cube house on the property to remember its history, if the plan goes through.

“I hope they do something special to record this interesting but undercooked moment,” he said.
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www.thestar.com

The future never really took shape for Toronto’s whimsical cube house. Now its time is up

The house, modelled after Dutch architect Piet Blom’s cube houses in Rotterdam, is on a piece of land slated for a new condo development.
www.thestar.com www.thestar.com

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ear2ear said:
The only grit I'd complain about is the dust accumulation on the basketball courts due to the absence of rainwater flushing them out. I can't speak to the conditions of the children's play area though.
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I can (as my kid used to play there en route to or from Corktown Common pre-Covid). The emissions from cop cars occasionally using it as shaded parking (but engine running for AC) wouldn't have helped. Not sure whether the new building adjacent to U Park makes things better or worse - maybe worse if it means air flow is retained more in the vicinity of the overpass.
 
If I was something like Menkes or Daniels, I would find a lot nearby I want to redevelop for townhouses, move those there, fix 'em all up and build a whole bunch more. But I am not something like Menkes or Daniels. :(
 
UtakataNoAnnex said:
If I was something like Menkes or Daniels, I would find a lot nearby I want to redevelop for townhouses, move those there, fix 'em all up and build a whole bunch more. But I am not something like Menkes or Daniels. :(
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And this is why lol
 
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