Toronto 906 Yonge Street | 139.17m | 40s | Gupta | Arcadis

FSI is Floor Space Index, right? I read the article on Wikipedia about it, but I still don't really get what it means.
 
Wikipedia doesn't explain it all that well. Floor Space Index (also called Floor Area Ratio) refers to the Gross Floor Area (the total square footage of all floors combined) divided by the lot area. A FSI of 1.0 would for example mean a 1 storey building taking up the entire plot or a 2 storey building taking up half the plot, or a 3 storey building taking up 33% of the plot...etc.
 
The Tudor Revival style of Ridpath's is great. It was a conservative style for the time, but I wish we had more such commercial blocks. Fortunately it sounds like there will be some preservation here.
 
Not such a beautiful project.

YongeandMcMurrich1.jpg

Yonge Street facade

YongeandMcMurrich2.jpg
 
From the Globe:

Ridpath’s demise marks the end of an era

Ridpath’s, which occupied a three-storey building at 906 Yonge St., just across from Canadian Tire near Davenport, will be transformed into two buildings: a 35-storey hotel and 28-storey condominium tower. The existing Ridpath’s facade, which has decorative half-timbering familiar to anyone who has seen an English pub, will be partially retained, and rumours are that it will be incorporated into the design of the planned boutique hotel.
Click to expand...

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news...emise-marks-the-end-of-an-era/article2075250/
 
It seems to me an odd location for a large (35, or 20 storey) hotel.
 
I have mixed feelings on this re-development and facadism. But I feel an appropriate name (and homage to its history) for the condo/hotel should be "The Ridpath".
 
If they must save that silly faux Ye Olde English building, why not just stick it on the roof with a little garden and a water feature for the residents and set it back from the street so nobody else will see it?
 
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