Toronto 656 Danforth Avenue | 160.73m | 49s | Del Boca Vista | Studio JCI

xy3 said:
The problem isnt the height, it's the econo-tecture .
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What is econo-tecture?
The ground floor looks good in my opinion. The podium height is only 4 storeys v 6-8 storeys which the mid-rise guidelines would allow for.

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The retail is small and can accomodate local shops and artisans. The materialiity says "Masonry" which hopefully means limestone and not precast...
Theres also a connection to the Future ontario line station right into the lobby. The lobby looks to be a shared open public lobby which doubles for the residents and the office component ..
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flonicky said:
Because I think the scale and context of the existing city fabric deserve some basic consideration, even if city policies and 'the numbers' driving business decisions don't support that. The frustration in my post is at the leap from low density to one of the tallest buildings in the city instead of having the area intensify more gradually over time.
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Well there’s been a subway under the Danforth since 1966 and for various reasons the entire corridor is basically still 2-3 storeys so I think there’s been plenty of time for “intensify more gradually over time” which hasn’t worked. This transit line needs to start pulling its weight in terms of supporting the housing badly needed in Toronto. Also a 49 storey tower is not one of the tallest in the city. We are routinely into 60+ storeys in the core. It’s tall but it’s not the tallest. I think it’s completely appropriate at an interchange station.
 
neo said:
Well there’s been a subway under the Danforth since 1966 and for various reasons the entire corridor is basically still 2-3 storeys so I think there’s been plenty of time for “intensify more gradually over time” which hasn’t worked. This transit line needs to start pulling its weight in terms of supporting the housing badly needed in Toronto. Also a 49 storey tower is not one of the tallest in the city. We are routinely into 60+ storeys in the core. It’s tall but it’s not the tallest. I think it’s completely appropriate at an interchange station.
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Couldn't be more perfectly illustrated here:

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ProjectEnd said:
Couldn't be more perfectly illustrated here:

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That certainly illustrates the tower not relating to its contemporary context.

neo said:
Well there’s been a subway under the Danforth since 1966 and for various reasons the entire corridor is basically still 2-3 storeys so I think there’s been plenty of time for “intensify more gradually over time” which hasn’t worked. This transit line needs to start pulling its weight in terms of supporting the housing badly needed in Toronto. Also a 49 storey tower is not one of the tallest in the city. We are routinely into 60+ storeys in the core. It’s tall but it’s not the tallest. I think it’s completely appropriate at an interchange station.
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I've already said I'm ok w/substantial height at this location.............that said, I think we need to move away from the idea that substantial height is broadly a good thing, 'just cause'.

Buildings in excess of 40s are generally more expensive to build on a per ft2 basis than shorter ones (under 40s), meaning higher rents and higher sales prices; in a City with an affordable housing crisis, we certainly do need additional density, but the form matters.

Likewise, the environmental performance of buildings of this height generally deteriorate as well, and we have a climate crisis on our hands.

No this intersection and the Danforth more broadly ought not to remain 2-3s. But nor does that mean that 40s+ is a good answer.

In addition, it's important to build communities that people want to live in; while it is certainly possible to preserve human-scale and build towers, we're frankly not very good at that in Toronto; and this proposal gets some key bits wrong in that regard (though they are fixable)
 
Ward14-Danforth said:
Potentially the first of many to come!

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Let's leave the nice, heritage-listed Royal Bank on the north-west corner alone shall we.

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The south-west corner, which includes the former Odeon Danforth (now Good Life Fitness) is very much in play.

Not sure if @ProjectEnd is sneaking anything else by me in the area, LOL

I do know of a site nearby on the south side of Danforth that's in play, but its outside the shown Block Context Plan.
 
I can't believe I'm saying this during a housing crisis, but I think it might be too tall.

Also, given the landmark nature of Holy Name Church on the Danforth, I would be reluctant to have a big tower on the NW corner, as is proposed.
 
FrankM said:
what's the unit mix going to be like? Being on a rather small base suggests a small floor plate and hence the height.
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Unit mix is found in this image below, which also appears in post #1 in this thread. ( I mention this just to let you know it's a good spot to look for such info in building threads)

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Towered said:
Not to derail the thread too much, but I do wonder if there was any local NIMBY outrage when the TD centre was first proposed - "It's too tall!" "It's too modern!" "It's ugly!" "It's too black!" "Where will everyone park?!?"
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That last point was easy to remedy back then, just tear down a block of heritage buildings. Parking problem solved!
 
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