Toronto Aqualina at Bayside | 47.85m | 13s | Tridel | Arquitectonica

[Midtown Urbanist]

Merchant's Wharf is too wide of a street IMO.

 

[someMidTowner]

Shot from GBC Waterfront

 

[raptor]

According to the webcam, a shoring machine has arrived on site.

 

[freshcutgrass]

Merchant's Wharf is too wide of a street IMO.

There shouldn't be a roadway right on the bloody water's edge in the first place. But what would you expect from the tag-team of giant, uninspired developers like Tridel & Hines and a city planning department that doesn't know or care about design?

Toronto's supposed shiny new frontier (the waterfront) has so far been a giant failure in terms of any eye candy. It's full steam ahead with the usual cheap Toronto condo designs.

Maybe we do need a monorail and a ferris wheel after all?

 

[Filip]

There shouldn't be a roadway right on the bloody water's edge in the first place. But what would you expect from the tag-team of giant, uninspired developers like Tridel & Hines and a city planning department that doesn't know or care about design?

Toronto's supposed shiny new frontier (the waterfront) has so far been a giant failure in terms of any eye candy. It's full steam ahead with the usual cheap Toronto condo designs.

Maybe we do need a monorail and a ferris wheel after all?

Agreed. Maybe not a monorail, but we certainly could use a ferris wheel (or in fact anything interesting and/or exciting).

Basically, even upon full build out, there is absolutely nothing down there to attract the layman to the new waterfront. West Don Lands is basically a selection of well designed dreariness, East Bayfronts is basically uninspired condos and suburban office buildings. If I want to 'hang out by the lake' I'll do it where I live.

 

[Automation Gallery]

If I want to 'hang out by the lake' I'll do it where I live.

+1

 

[AlvinofDiaspar]

Agreed. Maybe not a monorail, but we certainly could use a ferris wheel (or in fact anything interesting and/or exciting).

Basically, even upon full build out, there is absolutely nothing down there to attract the layman to the new waterfront. West Don Lands is basically a selection of well designed dreariness, East Bayfronts is basically uninspired condos and suburban office buildings. If I want to 'hang out by the lake' I'll do it where I live.

West Don Lands is a residential neigbhourhood, it wasn't meant to attract the layman beyond that (though you can argue Corktown Commons and other ancillary community uses - e.g. the new Y - does that).

As to the actual Waterfront proper, I agree to some extent, though someone has to operate specific attractions (e.g. museums, planetarium, what-not), and WT need interested partners with that sort of thing. And sorry, the Ferris Wheel is too cliched - like, every city with a waterfront got one, for crying out loud.

AoD

 

[Filip]

West Don Lands is a residential neigbhourhood, it wasn't meant to attract the layman beyond that (though you can argue Corktown Commons and other ancillary community uses - e.g. the new Y - does that).

As to the actual Waterfront proper, I agree to some extent, though someone has to operate specific attractions (e.g. museums, planetarium, what-not), and WT need interested partners with that sort of thing. And sorry, the Ferris Wheel is too cliched - like, every city with a waterfront got one, for crying out loud.

AoD

I agree it's cliche, I'm just blasting ideas... I'm just not sure Waterfront Toronto put any emphasis on securing land use that isn't office/residential. Given the large amount of people who will be living on those lands, an entertainment centre (think Festival Hall without the bad 90s PoMo architecture) cinema, small performance venue, big box stores would go a long way attracting people to the waterfront. I know I know.. Big Box stores are the devil, but they can integrate well in an urban development and despite what some may think here, they're incredibly popular.

We've been talking about a museum of modern art for a while.. Why not have a municipal/provincial push to put it on the waterfront? It's not going to happen otherwise.

 

[Torontovibe]

The central waterfront should never have been a mainly residential area. Toronto has the whole rest of the city for that but we only have 1 downtown waterfront area. It should serve a higher purpose than just residential. Obviously Harbourfront is more than just residential but I think the whole central waterfront should be focused on tourism, leisure, culture, entertainment and just having fun. Most other major destinations keep their central waterfronts for tourist attractions and leisure activities. I don't know why Toronto pays so little attention to tourism. (we are a major tourist centre)

We already have The Beaches, Humber Bay Shores, New Toronto as well as other places for waterfront residential, so why use our central waterfront just for that? Toronto does not have enough entertainment/tourist/leisure areas for my liking. I keep going to the same areas because there are so few lively areas like that. The Portlands is probably our last shot at a great tourist zone but even that is too far from the central core. It should have been focused from Bathurst to Parliament but obviously, condos won out. Sadly, we always take the easy way out.

I think Aqualina should have instead been developed into a South Street Seaport or Fishermen's Wharf type area, with a few major attractions, along with shopping, restaurants, hotels and cultural offerings. Look how successful Darling Harbour is in Sydney. It has all kinds of attractions and has become a major meeting area for both Sydneysiders and tourists. It's a great area to just hang out in. Why couldn't we develop something like that on our waterfront? This city is so short sighted. Condos will not develop Toronto as a tourist destination, build our city's reputation of being a world city or provide Torontonians with more entertainment options.

We are turning our central waterfront into bedroom communities, instead of the showcase destination it should be.

 

[uwaterloo2010]

At the site today (Dec 27)
New street lights up, after some weathering the wooden post should look like the rest. Water edge promenade ready with benches and lights. All this before construction of the actual condo and office building. Maybe the promenade will be open to public access during construction?

 

[maestro]

The central waterfront should never have been a mainly residential area. Toronto has the whole rest of the city for that but we only have 1 downtown waterfront area. It should serve a higher purpose than just residential. Obviously Harbourfront is more than just residential but I think the whole central waterfront should be focused on tourism, leisure, culture, entertainment and just having fun. Most other major destinations keep their central waterfronts for tourist attractions and leisure activities. I don't know why Toronto pays so little attention to tourism. (we are a major tourist centre)

We already have The Beaches, Humber Bay Shores, New Toronto as well as other places for waterfront residential, so why use our central waterfront just for that? Toronto does not have enough entertainment/tourist/leisure areas for my liking. I keep going to the same areas because there are so few lively areas like that. The Portlands is probably our last shot at a great tourist zone but even that is too far from the central core. It should have been focused from Bathurst to Parliament but obviously, condos won out. Sadly, we always take the easy way out.

I think Aqualina should have instead been developed into a South Street Seaport or Fishermen's Wharf type area, with a few major attractions, along with shopping, restaurants, hotels and cultural offerings. Look how successful Darling Harbour is in Sydney. It has all kinds of attractions and has become a major meeting area for both Sydneysiders and tourists. It's a great area to just hang out in. Why couldn't we develop something like that on our waterfront? This city is so short sighted. Condos will not develop Toronto as a tourist destination, build our city's reputation of being a world city or provide Torontonians with more entertainment options.

We are turning our central waterfront into bedroom communities, instead of the showcase destination it should be.

Don't have a problem with an extension of the downtown with high density residential and office here. We already have Harbourfront Centre to improve and expand upon. Sometimes I wonder about urbantoronto forumers. It's an unpleasant climate down there for a large part of the year. San Francisco is a bit of a stretch but to bring up Sydney is ridiculous.

 

[AndreaPalladio]

+1

Also, no self respecting New Yorker or San Franciscan would be caught dead in South Street Seaport or Fisherman's Wharf. The waterfront should be for the people of Toronto, not a load of tacky tourist traps.

 

[Torontovibe]

Yeah but the point is, it's not being designed for the people of Toronto. It's being designed as a residential area for condo owners, with a few office towers thrown in. That shit can go anywhere. It doesn't need to be on our last bit of downtown waterfront land. The waterfront needs to be for the whole city, not just condo dwellers. I'm not saying we have to copy South Street Seaport or Fishermen's Wharf. If that's what you guys read into my post, you totally don't get what I'm saying. Toronto needs to have its own unique attractions, I'm just giving examples of how other places focus more on tourism and attractions.

Why is it, people always say shit that's not true? Half of all my relatives live in NYC. I also have many friends/acquaintances there and I've lived (temporarily) there 3 times. I know where New Yorkers go and what they do for fun. You always hear people say that New Yorkers never go to Times Square or South Street Seaport. (or any tourist area) That of course, is pure crap. Most New Yorkers love Times Square and go there quite often. When I'm in New York, my family is always going there and yes, they also go to South Street Seaport. New Yorkers love their city and they go out to all those touristy areas, just like Torontonians go to Centre Island, the Distillery District and Yorkville, just for fun. New Yorkers are no different than anyone else in that regard. In other ways, yeah, they are different. lol

I have friends in San Francisco, and guess what, they go to Fishermen's Wharf too. I don't know what kind of people you know but the people I know, go out, have fun and like busy, touristy areas. (as do I) I hang out in Toronto's touristy areas all the time and I want more of them. That's one thing we lack. You guys don't have to agree but I guess we just want different types of cities. I like highly animated, diverse, vibrant, touristy cities with a huge downtown core. (That includes the central waterfront) I don't want another CityPlace on the east central waterfront.

We have winter, so therefore we shouldn't have a people/tourist friendly waterfront? We shouldn't build attractions on our waterfront because of cold weather? Is there no way to build areas or attractions that can be used in winter? So, all of northern Europe can do it successfully but we can't? Have you never been to Scandinavia? They build all kinds of great attractions, right on the water and yet, people seem to like it there. Why are people here so afraid of winter? Is there no brilliant way to climatize our waterfront attractions to make them adaptable to winter? I can think of lots of things and I am no expert. Imagine what a real designer could come up with. Some of you guys are just so small minded, you only look for ways of saying no, without looking for solutions to say yes.

 

[Register123]

+1

Also, no self respecting New Yorker or San Franciscan would be caught dead in South Street Seaport or Fisherman's Wharf. The waterfront should be for the people of Toronto, not a load of tacky tourist traps.

Vibe is absolutely correct, and you are absolutely wrong. I lived for 10 years in NYC and many "self respecting New Yorkers" go down to south street seaport and many other tourist areas in their city often. What an absurd thing to say.

 

[interchange42]

The last thing a couple of New Yorker friends of mine want to see is Times Square. Never had cause to ask them about South Street Seaport, but I doubt it would be their kind of place either. Neither of them are into the cutesified areas. Different strokes for different… New Yorkers.

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