Toronto 199 Church | 124.5m | 39s | CentreCourt | Arcadis

Yesterday
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Domenico said:
Very disappointing. It looked originally like they were going to retain 50% or more of the heritage buildings but, as can be seen from the second picture, they have, or are are about to, demolish all but the facades.

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I must say I had always assumed it was a 'normal' facadectomy. Not sure why you would want more of the original retained as the floor levels are probably different and as they will be building floors above they would need totally different supporting structure too. Can't say I am a facadectomy fan but some work fairly well and retain a feeling of the former streetscape.
 
Most likely you're right but if you look at item#122 or #119 (which I shot in May), they seemed to have neatly trimmed the back of the houses. Not sure why they would do that and then demolish more later, down to a meter or so depth of façade.
 
Actually I like the look of condo buildings without balconies. I think there is a place for balconies, mostly on lower floors overlooking a ravine or green area and in midrise buildings. Frankly I believe most balconies get very little use. Especially in tall buildings in busy venues. Who wants to sit in a balcony listening to car motors revving and spewing fumes, or emergency vehicles screeching from a mile away. I have a very large balcony, in a six storey building at Yonge and York Mills, facing a ravine, and use it only on occasion and for pots to grow some herbs and flowers. My neighbors use theirs less. These balconies carry a very large cost to construct and even more so to maintain or sometimes to replace. If a builder is charging the same per sq. ft. for the balcony as interior space, I'll take the more useful living space.
 
Balcones are exempt from GFA calculations so it's essentially 'free' space for developers. Because they're not thermally broken, it's very easy to extend your concrete out.

If you don't use yours, that's fine, but I'm out on mine every day. We eat as many meals as possible out there, we grow herbs, I worked out there when my situation was WFH.
 
i do like condos without balconies(aesthetic) but it's always nice to have a balcony in your condo. my brother and i lived on the 14 floor in Ottawa and after a long day it was incredibly relaxing to sit there and look at the downtown and traffic.
 
ushahid said:
i do like condos without balconies(aesthetic) but it's always nice to have a balcony in your condo. my brother and i lived on the 14 floor in Ottawa and after a long day it was incredibly relaxing to sit there and look at the downtown and traffic.
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We share the same sentiment @ushahid. I was a little disappointed to see the balconies disappear on this project (even though aesthetically it looks cleaner). Personally I don't think I could live in a condo without some sort of private access to outdoor space... and fresh air.
 
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