Toronto 50 Bloor Street West | 230.11m | 70s | Morguard Corporation | Pellow + Associates

But after what happened with the Uptown, it's understandable that people would be anxious about this one. ; )
 
arvelomcquaig said:
Many people have made the point that skyscrapers don't necessarily make a good urban neighbourhood, and then proceed to speak ill of the prospect of this skyscraper without giving reasons. I agree that tallness alone doesn't improve a neighbourhood, but can someone explain why tallness subtracts from a neighbourhood? Like the new Four Seasons building in Yorkville, for instance; how/why has its conspicuous height hurt the area? Apart from shade, I can't think of any negative effect such buildings have that would make people dread this development (though I can think of many benefits). Even if it were proposed for the centre of a low-rise neighbourhood, why is a tall building like this objectionable?
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Just a few quick things:

I'm not strictly opposed to tall buildings, but in opinion, so far in Toronto we've done a poor job of ensuring that our tall buildings contribute positively at street level. Thinking of streets like Bay St (north of Queen) or one-off projects like Maple Leaf Square, I find that the buildings contain many dead spaces that do little to create a really good urban realm like you would find on let's say Yonge or Queen St. People complain that City Place and the condos along Lakeshore near the Ex/Fort York are basically a downtown suburb due to their lack of character and contributions to the urban realm. Part of it is the planning in this area too, but that goes hand in hand with the lack of attention paid to street-level by developers in these areas. (I'll also say that I live in the City Place/Lakeshore/Queens Quay area, so I see it daily, and admit that the area is still in its infancy as well). Tied into this are rules about store sizes, the rents that businesses have to pay in newer buildings compared to old neighbourhoods, and the type of stores that can fit into these developments based on these requirements.

I also think there's something to be said for building at a human scale. Whether it's the width or roads or the width of buildings, I think what makes for a successful neighbourhood is the feeling as though you aren't overwhelmed by your environment. Maybe it works in a city like New York but I've never been there. Chicago is the closest thing to it that I've visited and I found the low-rise neighbourhoods (like Wrigleyville) to be much more livelier than the downtown area, particularly on weekends and after dinner once the office workers fled the Loop.

Ultimately, these are buildings we're going to have for a long time, and when you get them wrong they're very difficult to recover from. What's made Toronto successful is our neighbourhoods that are very lively and vibrant and I think a lot of that has to do with their low-rise status. Developing tall-buildings is fine, but so far it's been at the cost of what's made Toronto great and I just don't want to see that continue to happen. Ultimately, while Bloor isn't St Lawrence or Little Italy, it's still important that the street-level is addressed with more importance and detail than what those here tend to drool over because that's the part we have to live with for decades (or longer) to come.
 
blacktrojan3921 said:
Would it kill them to go for over 300 metres? >:
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Why would they, out of curiosity? To them, 300 metres is an arbitrary number. It's only in circles like this where the 300 number means anything. And even then it's usually just a "member-size" competition.
 
The first element is creating an 8 storey commercial podium beginning at Mayfair Mews that extends along Bloor Street West

Renfrew store but adds four more storeys plus a rooftop garden on top of the flagship luxury department store. The 8 storey podium will be made up of retail space and offices.

The second element is building a 72 storey residential condominium tower plus 3 building service levels that sits on top of the 8 retail podium but does not extend over Holt

the

as

Renfrew

becomes part of the amenities for the condominium building. The condominium tower will be made up of approximately 600

Levels 11-38 will be the Garden Terrace Suites, followed by the City View Suites on floors 41-65 and topped off with the Sky-garden Penthouses on floors 68-80.

new address for the condominium building will be 30 Bloor Street West.

There are also plans for 6 level underground parking garage under the condominium tower at 30 Bloor Street West consisting of approximately 620 parking spaces for the condominium residents and commercial tenants.

30 Bloor Street West Amenities

Twenty four hour concierge Valet parking

Garden Terrace Levels 9 & 10 features:

Indoor lap pool and lounge Wellness spa Fitness centre with double height climbing wall Children's playroom Dining room with catering kitchen Party room Games room

Outdoor Rooftop Terrace features

Outdoor pool & sundeck Outdoor lounge with fireplace Outdoor dining area with barbeque Outdoor running track Roller blade oval Ice-skating rink Tennis court Outdoor children's and games area

City View Levels 39-40 features:

Landscaped terrace at level 39 Social rooms for condo residents Library Media lounge with music studio

Skygarden Levels 66 & 67 features

Landscaped terrace Sky lounge
 
Purely from a marketing standpoint, I'm shocked that they don't add the fifty feet or whatever that they need to make it the Tallest Building in Canada. Tallest, not tallest*.
 
The plan as is (which retains the exiting Holts) allows them to maintain in the store while construction occurs.

I just don't understand exactly how this will integrate if at all into whatever will be proposed by Oxford for Cumberland Terrace. (And further to that how it will mesh with the proposal for the parking lot). The condo tower at 30 Bloor will have to be set back and on the western plot of the site (but east of the store) so that there is distance between it and the CIBC Building.

Id sorta rather see the whole lot developed at once in conjunction with CT so that there's a cohesive strategy. Obvi not gonna happen.
 
pw20 said:
The plan as is (which retains the exiting Holts) allows them to maintain in the store while construction occurs.

I just don't understand exactly how this will integrate if at all into whatever will be proposed by Oxford for Cumberland Terrace. (And further to that how it will mesh with the proposal for the parking lot). The condo tower at 30 Bloor will have to be set back and on the western plot of the site (but east of the store) so that there is distance between it and the CIBC Building.

Id sorta rather see the whole lot developed at once in conjunction with CT so that there's a cohesive strategy. Obvi not gonna happen.
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But how is CT related, its a different site ?

What I don't understand is they do plan on building new commercial space ? Where will that go.
 
Surveyor in an alley off Cumberland. He's either there for this project or Cumberland Terrace.

hra13.jpg
 
unimaginative2 said:
Purely from a marketing standpoint, I'm shocked that they don't add the fifty feet or whatever that they need to make it the Tallest Building in Canada. Tallest, not tallest*.
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I think because they don't need to. The Holt Renfrew Tower, if that's what it's called, will be excellent marketing already. They'll save the 90+ story tower for SW corner of Y&B...perhaps.
 
myfive said:
I think because they don't need to. The Holt Renfrew Tower, if that's what it's called, will be excellent marketing already. They'll save the 90+ story tower for SW corner of Y&B...perhaps.
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That would be terrific idea!..
 
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