Toronto 2150 Lake Shore | 215.75m | 67s | First Capital | Allies and Morrison

Very exciting news!

Now this is a site that we should be excited for!
(excuse my slight dig at Quayside)

upload_2018-8-15_12-19-57.png
 

Attachments

  • upload_2018-8-15_12-19-57.png
    upload_2018-8-15_12-19-57.png
    760.3 KB · Views: 2,860
Good to hear- really hopeful about this:

The transformation of the site will benefit from Allies and Morrison’s expertise in creating characterful places that knit new development into the urban fabric of cities, drawing on a range of experience from the renaissance of London’s South Bank to the transformation of King’s Cross into a highly mixed-use, distinct urban quarter.

Some of the urban plans they've done:
http://www.alliesandmorrison.com/project-sector/masterplan/

I do hope we can get some European styles of urban planning here.
 
This may be very old news but a staff member at the BMO on the corner of Park Lawn and Lake Shore told me that the site of the bank has been sold to the developers. They expect to be located in the podium of an unspecified area building. No time frame was mentioned.

This is not surprising since the property is much too valuable for the rather unimpressive structure that presently occupies it.

My apologies if this is already common knowledge. It’s new to me.
 
Last edited:
From nowtoronto.com:

First Capital Realty is inviting Humber Bay Shores area residents to attend its second Idea Fair to discuss plans for the former Mr. Christie site.

The drop-in event will take place at the Polish Association of Toronto, 2282 Lake Shore Blvd. W., on Wednesday, Nov. 21 from 4:30 to 8:30 p.m.

The first Idea Fair, which took place back on Feb. 6, saw hundreds of local residents drop by to share their wish lists for the 27-acre site at 2150 Lake Shore Blvd. W. that once housed the now-demolished bakery.

This time around, First Capital will share the big ideas collected during that first event, and introduce residents to Allies and Morrison — the internationally-renowned master planner they have engaged to reimagine the Mr. Christie site as “a new dynamic heart for Humber Bay Shores.”

Residents are urged to come to the event prepared to brainstorm ideas on: completing Humber Bay Shores; community amenities; restaurants and retail; mixed-use development; and transit and connections

While the drop-in event will run from 4:30 to 8:30 p.m., two formal introductions to Allies and Morrison will take place from 5:30 to 6 p.m., and from 7 to 7:30 p.m.


42
 
Strange billboard-looking stuff appeared on the site at some point between now and my last shot of this site from this summer. It is along Park Lawn very near Lake Shore

chris 1.JPG


chris 2.JPG


chris 3.JPG


chris 4.JPG


Any idea what this is all about? First Capital just using this site for storage of stuff they don't need at their other sites?
 
Last edited:
Those look like they are likely related to the construction of the mechanical levels of the Eau du Soleil towers. I assume they were used on the Water Tower, and are now being stored prior to being required for the Sky Tower.

42
 
A couple of pictures of the community feedback artboards:

IMG_20181121_202455.jpg
IMG_20181121_202509.jpg


Filled by NIMBY ideas, as you can see. I very much enjoyed asking to put a suggestion for a supertall tower right under "no super high rises" sign. Just for the record, a request for vivid bright colors is also mine.

Unfortunately I missed the presentation by Allies and Morrison, but I had an opportunity to talk to a couple of them. Nice lads and lassies. I got the impression they were relieved to have a conversation with someone other than a NIMBY for a change, very engaged. I voiced my frustrations regarding the grey spandrel window wall construction and bland glass box architecture we get here in Toronto. I asked for landmarks, I asked for bright vivid color use and nice cladding materials. They seemed totally on the same page with me. I also floated an idea of building a supertall tower here. That seemed to light up a light bulb with them, but they said that asking for such density in this area will be a problem with getting the City approval. I suggested this will be a good leverage to finally get government funding for the Park Lawn GO station. At least I seeded the idea in their minds, let's see what comes of it.

Anyways, hopefully at least I diluted all of the NIMBY sh1te they've been hearing all evening long. The silent majority must be heard at these community meetings too. By the way, the crowd there was mostly 50+. A big plus after that 50. So you can imagine how 'representative' of a community voice that was, considering HBS demographics.
 
Last edited:
I was there also, but like Full Metal, missed the presentation. The attendance was surprisingly good, IMO, but it certainly is true that it was an older group. I have to admit that Mrs. 67 and I fall into that 50 + crowd. It isn’t the seniors’ fault that a younger demographic didn’t show up but any report of the first part of the evening should indeed name the imbalance. Maybe a more representative crew will show up for the later session.

I was chiefly interested in the photo displays of other Allies and Morrison projects. To be honest, I was a little disappointed especially with the shots of a pair of infill projects in an English city I know and love. Looking for a positive, there was considerable use of brick in their projects. HBS could use either red or yellow brick structures, I think.
 

Back
Top