Toronto 2 St Thomas | 80.46m | 26s | KingSett Capital | Hariri Pontarini

Can anyone comment on the reported prices/s/ft and units sold in this interesting project? I'm wondering if the market for luxury units is holding up amidst the downturn.
 
well, if we take the usual trend of the super-rich not being adversely affected by the economy in the long run...then, yes, the luxury condo market would not be affected much at all, even during a downturn.
 
I still don't see what makes these particular homes so special - they are cookie cutter Victorian houses replicated hundreds of times over barely 5 minutes to the north. My preference would be for Yonge and Bloor to be filled up with as many high rises as possible, with strict anti-demolition policies being implemented in the stable residential areas immediately to the north.

Having said that, I'd rather see these homes stay put for the time being. There are enough underused properties and parking lots not only at Yonge and Bloor but in the downtown area in general that tearing down existing buildings is senseless. Once the city is built out, then we can start talking about projects like this. Furthermore, since full build out is likely 20 years away, it would theoretically be a better idea to restore these homes for the time being than just demolish them in order to "preserve" existing surface lots.
 
I really don't get the logic of proposing a moratorium on redeveloping build on property until all vacant property has been developed to then release the steel dinosaurs to start all over again. These house forms on Charles and just about every other heritage designated structure which agruably fall far short of the utilized densities of today are worthy of more than a temporary reprieval.
 
Well the more I think about it, the more I like the idea of keeping those old homes - it would be nice to have a little breathing space in an otherwise dense inner city neighbourhood. Just do something with all the parking lots!
 
Just do something with all the parking lots
Click to expand...

The city should continue to raise their taxes however I'm not sure this would accelerate their demise. There doesn't seem to be too many holdouts as the number of tower sized parking lots are rapidly being replaced with, well towers.

I still have some eleventh hour hopes for these townhouses (unless it arrived when I wasn't looking) as they should of already been demolished numerous times over according to the media attention and there appears to be a new? CofA notice on one of the townhouses. I forget, this is Toronto where novel solutions are few and far between. I don't know, this being Yorkville and all, the additonal expense of a 50 storey signature tower that cantilevers over the southern University Apartments and relocating the townhouses onto Charles street while an underground parkade is built could be made up by selling at a higher price point with density bonuses and "free parking" from the city.
 
Do they move east or west next?

Oh, just kidding, 1 St. Thomas still has a few years left in it.

42
 
100 years later, the yuppies gobble thee olde brick and spit out

concrete and glass boxes. gobble gobble here comes the home wrecker. (Cya in divorce court;)

Thursday, 22 May 2008 1 PM I took the following historic photos:




Didn't see anyone else taking photos--am I the only one that gives a damn???
 
thx for these pics, dreamer, and they are indeed historic...
 
That corner had charm - even in spite of the fact that those house were being left to rot.

I like the design of the tower as well, I just wish that it would have grown from a piece of land other than where these houses (once) stood.
 
As much as i like preserving victorian buildings in general...reality is that occaisionally old buildings need to be torn down to make way for progress. And sometimes I think it is an overall improvement.

These particular ones and the context of where they are make me side with what is actually happening. Restoring them as-is would look a bit odd on the street, and not be economically viable. If they were of considerable architectural value, then I might support the idea of incorporating them into some kind of larger development or even the dreaded facadism.

In this case, despite my automatic reactionary disdain for demolishing historic buildings, I think I will prefer having what will replace it.

I'm just glad they decided to keep the two little Georgian styled apartment buildings...they make the street.
 
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