thethrows
New Member
I am only familiar with three smaller buildings in the financial district and one in the Bay/Bloor area, all very old. Only 2 have bike cages, none have showers. One is so bad in terms of the washrooms that there are constant lineups there and to make it worse the ongoing meme there is to make eye contact with the person at the urinal next to you and make awkward small talk as you are relieving yourself. So from my subjective perspective, I would take my SoCo building over any one of those any day of the week. But then again, I'm not familiar with the amenities of the big skyscrapers in the financial district. I agree that there is more variety of shopping and eateries there, but all the SoCo buildings are connected to the PATH. It takes me 30 minutes of a brisk walk to get to Eaton's and back taking the PATH, leaving 30 minutes for lunch if I feel like I want to go for a walk or hit up a food place there. Architecture-wise and finish-wise, I agree, a lot of the financial district buildings are nicer, but how much does that play into executives' decision when picking a location? Also, not sure if the financial district buildings are also being renovated with the new open office layouts like the newer buildings, but you can cram a lot more people per sq.ft. into these new offices compared to the classic cubicles.
Sounds like we have a different POV. I'm at Commerce Court and find the bike and shower facilities to be first class with no cost admittance and free towel service (Although, I will say the secure bike room gets crowded in the summer). In terms of navigating the PATH to get to better retailers and food...sure (of course, the financial district towers are there already, and have top retail beneath). And yes, firms are renovating in the Financial District to cram more in less. It's happening all over (not just in the core, but in the suburbs as well).